Shortages at grocery stores across the country have grown more acute in recent weeks as omicron continues to spread and winter storms have piled on to the supply chain struggles and labour shortages.
The shortages reported nationwide are widespread, impacting the production of meat and packaged goods such as cereal.
"We've all learned to make sure that the stores are still very presentable, give the consumers as much choice as we can get." Curt Covington, senior director of institutional credit at AgAmerica, told USA TODAY that the trends for specific food shortages are intermittent and varied.
"Shortages depend on the item, store, and region of the country," Covington said.
"Supply chain issues, consumer behaviour, or environmental factors might be the reason for shortages, so it's hard to pinpoint what will be affected next." As the world reaches the two-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, more items are becoming scarce because of global supply chain disruptions such as congestion at ports and shortages of truck drivers and service workers.
Patrick Penfield, professor of supply chain practice at Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management, recently told USA TODAY that cream cheese and international foods were among the food products in short supply.
"As you walk through a lot of stores, you won't see the quantity and quality of items you are accustomed to seeing," Penfield said, adding some shortages are regional due to labour and truck shortages.
In a recent study by business consultancy KPMG, 71% of grocery consumers said they were somewhat or very concerned about shortages or stockouts, with 35% switching brands when their favourite items are out of stock.
