It's all-over social media right now: forget about shortages of school lunch items. Now everyone is starting to worry about Thanksgiving food shortages.
So what is really in short supply?
Let’s start with the granddaddy of Thanksgiving feasts, the centerpiece for every table: the turkey.
Grocery supply chain expert Pedro Reyes says the problem is there are not enough laborers to process the turkeys.
"The good news," he said, "is there are plenty of turkeys out there. The bad news is the logistics of getting it from the farm to the production or process to the grocery store is where we may see a struggle.
This also rings true for dairy and eggs.
Unfortunately, we may not only see some shortages but also price increases, he says. Eggs are already sharply higher than they were two years ago.
"Well, the chickens, they produce so many eggs per day," Reyes explained. "But if they can't be processed forward, then they have to be thrown away."
Kerry Byrne leads one of the nation's largest logistics companies, Total Quality Logistics.
"Every component of the supply chain is stressed right now due to consumer demand, pent-up consumer demand, and a shortage of labor," Byrne said.
Meanwhile, Reyes warns produce is the next big thing that could be hard to find.
"If you're into cranberry sauce," he said, "I don't want to start a panic, but you probably want to get that now."
And good grief: there could be another great pumpkin shortage.
Yes, just like 2020, pumpkins are in short supply thanks to a fungus.
Lastly, thanks to overseas shipping issues and a glass bottle shortage, you may want to stock up now on holiday liquor if you'll want that cocktail to calm your shopping nerves…
"The import liquor is going to be a problem," Reyes said.
Don't expect a holiday miracle
Kerry Byrne is warning shoppers not to expect a holiday season miracle. "I don’t see things getting better any time soon, because there is simply too much backlog of inventory," he said.
Supply-side experts say your best bet is to grab a couple of non-perishable items when you see them at the grocery store, and not wait until the weekend before Thanksgiving Day.
The bottom line: buying some of these items early avoids price hikes, and stress, later so you don't waste your money.
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