I just received a text from my neighbor that we seem to be experiencing a flour shortage in our area (Northern CA). She said that Costco is out and the manager said he didn’t know “if or when” they will get more. I’m trying to figure out if this is a broader issue. She said she knows of at least one other store that does have some in stock right now and to grab it quick if we need some.
Anyone else experiencing this?
For months, you couldn't find flour here anywhere, especially the big 50 lb bags. Also yeast and other breadmaking supplies. It's been available everywhere for the past few months. I did see somewhere the other day that Costco has been running out of emergency supply types of goods and people were obviously stockpiling flour when it disappeared. I would guess rice, beans, other items that are easy to store and have a fairly long shelf life.
I've found that the smaller, regional grocery chains have had supplies when they disappear everywhere else. Lately, they had plenty of chicken when Walmart had none. Also if you have any kind of Amish bulk foods seller, they're a great source of things like flour.
One thing I've found scarce everywhere - catfood. Not dogfood.
Yes, cat food has been a problem! I’ve definitely seen a scarcity of emergency supplies. No Amish bulk food places anywhere near me. I bet that would be a fantastic resource!!
If you have an indoor farmers' market anywhere, I'll bet there's someone selling bulk items. You can find them online too. I bought a bunch of bulk nuts and vacuum sealed them for our stash. There's an Amish bulk market about 45 miles from us. It's well worth the trip. You name it, they have it in bulk and one huge section of various types of flours, yeast, gluten, anything needed for baking. They even have jello and pudding in bulk plus Amish made cheeses. Noodles, candy, rice, chips and other snacking things, gravy and soup mixes.
Cat food has been hard to find longer than anything. I started buying a few any time it was in stock many months ago. Buster the cat says, "Good mama! Prrrr-rrrr-rrrr."