America get ready for Major Food shortages in 2023..

Murrmurr said:
When there is a food shortage, what do you all stock-up on?
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I usually look for the things that have the longest shelf life... not necessarily healthy, but at least it feels good to have a little put away in the pantry. That would be peanut butter, tuna, salmon, ham (like Dak), all kinds of pasta and sauces... and I buy canned veggies with no salt added since that's something we try to avoid. I also have no salt added soups. No use (for us) stocking salty canned stuff that we'd feel guilty eating... so I just pay a little more for the no-salt things. @Murrmurr
 

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CallMeKate said:
I usually look for the things that have the longest shelf life... not necessarily healthy, but at least it feels good to have a little of it. That would be peanut butter, tuna, salmon, ham (like Dak), all kinds of pasta and sauces... and I buy canned veggies with no salt added since that's an issue. I also have no salt added soups. No use (for us) stocking salty canned stuff that we'd feel guilty eating... so I just pay a little more for the no-salt things. @Murrmurr
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I've always wondered why we have to pay more for items that have less of something in them.
 

It is not just America that is having food shortages. As @Paco Dennis stated above with pertinent information, it is worldwide.
So, England and other countries who point a finger at America thinking it's not about you, think again. You also fish from the oceans, grow and plant in the earth that is losing topsoil, have pollution and climate change.

Folks of the world, act fast to correct this. We only have ten fingers with which to point in another direction. Sooner than later it will be you.
 
Here in NS we keep stocked up for winter storms and, in recent years, hurricanes. A big thing here is “storm chips”. People raid the grocery stores just before a big storm hits and clean them out…especially the potato chip aisle. Don’t ask me why. I have no idea. But if the power goes out here it could be days or weeks before it comes back on.

As far as prices in my part of Canada go, I’m seeing astronomical rises. Flour went from $7.99/20 lb. bag to $21.99/20 lb.!

Eggs have doubled in price. We normally buy from a neighbour with a backyard flock, but it’s winter here and the ladies are crossing their wee chicken legs! 😄. No eggs for us. So we buy on sale at a local drug store for $4/dozen.

We buy beef, pork and chicken at a discount meat market in bulk about once every three to four months. Last stock up was November. We won’t need any more until March. I already alternate protein sources when I meal plan. So one day is pork, then beef, then chicken, then fish, then vegetarian. Often each meal serves us two days, so that’s a 10 day rotation.

Last year we put in a couple more raised garden beds to augment our first two and our deck garden. I grow all my own herbs, and we don’t need to buy many vegetables in the summer and fall. If I find something on sale I will buy it in bulk and preserve it. Usually through canning or freezer. But I also have a dehydrator.

We also skip the middleman and go direct to the farmer for things like wild blueberries. Last time I checked, they were $17/5 lbs. in the store. We got them for $15/5 lbs plus the tenth box was free. Ten boxes is our year’s supply.

Being willing to try new foods and new varieties is key to reducing grocery costs. As is the willingness to try new cuisines and recipes. And the willingness to modify what recipes you have. I notice Asian vegetables are much cheaper here than our Canadian vegetables.
 
CallMeKate said:
Uh... @Myrtle ? :) I may have to borrow some of those paper towels. When the "paper scare" happened in mid 2020, I bought plenty... and since we don't use a whole lot of them, it lasted until now. So time to restock and I'm building my WM pickup order this morning... ONE brand of paper towel available in-store and it's a shop towel by Scott, single roll! The rest are on shipping or out of stock including their own brand. The ones on shipping have inflated prices... hope that isn't starting again!
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Kate, come right on over and get a big roll. I have the select-a-size good ones bought on sale. No pay backs either, just pass it on when someone else needs something. :)

I too have noticed inflated prices on scarce items from Amazon and WalMart. One thing is the small garbage bags. The size you could substitute plastic grocery sacks for but we don’t have those anymore either. :rolleyes:
 
Going on memory here, I think the forecast wheat shortage had to do with the Ukraine war. Ukraine supplies an amazing amount of the world‘s wheat and their ships were blockaded by Russia. I think that was resolved and the ships could sail so things did not get as bad as feared. If I‘m wrong someone will tell me.
 
I think I've posted this before but I was doing an inventory before I went to the store and wanted to share this.
A while back I got the idea to write the expiration date with a black Sharpee on the top of cans and jars, etc as soon as I brought them home from the store.
I have to use a magnifying glass to see some of them so I do the work up front. Today, I could see at a glance what needed to be used up and rearranged as they get moved around here and there.
My husband is tired of the required pat on the back when I bring it up.....every..... single.... time. ;)
So, now you nice folks hav to hear about it......again. :giggle:
 
@hearlady , we do inventories too….about three or four times a year. Mostly to keep Hubby out of the grocery store. He thinks we need more food every day. Usually I do the inventory myself. This time I made him help so it physically connected with him how much food we have in this house. It took *3 hours*, but the fridge did get cleaned in the process. 😁

I’m a bit nervous about relying on Ukraine for anything these days…or any other foreign entity. I would far rather support local, given a choice. Often that is not possible. Especially given Canadian winters. But when it is available, I switch.
 
caroln said:
I've always wondered why we have to pay more for items that have less of something in them.
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But you know why, right?

Whenever experts tell me my diet will give me a heart attack or dementia, or that it's slowly killing me somehow, I think about Holocaust survivors who lived into their 90s after years of eating nothing but a cup of water with a sliver of potato in it. How'd they do it? How'd they come out of that healthy enough to go on and establish a career, get married, and have half a dozen kids and 30-some grandchildren?

Sure, if I my blood pressure was consistently high, I'd avoid the things that make it go higher, but salt isn't the main cause. First thing I'd look at is my job and my relationships and addictions. We're told to use less salt because it's easy, and because advising a person with HBP to make a career change or break-up with an overbearing partner suddenly became unethical somewhere around the 90s, or maybe the 80s, and doctors stopped advising patients to get into counseling for their stress and anxiety long ago because most insurances didn't cover it and resort-type sanatoriums became unaffordable.
 
Right Now said:
It is not just America that is having food shortages. As @Paco Dennis stated above with pertinent information, it is worldwide.
So, England and other countries who point a finger at America thinking it's not about you, think again. You also fish from the oceans, grow and plant in the earth that is losing topsoil, have pollution and climate change.

Folks of the world, act fast to correct this. We only have ten fingers with which to point in another direction. Sooner than later it will be you.
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Even basic research reveals that America is in no bigger a boat than the UK. As a matter of fact, where food shortages are concerned in future, the UK will be in dire straits…mainly because of its very size and large population.
With no help coming from the European Union (Brexit saw to that), the future is not too rosy. America on the other hand, is a huge country with huge potential…we saw how resourceful people were after the Great Depression.

A little more basic research will also reveal that in 2021, 287 million people across the world suffered food shortages. Today, 349 million people across 79 countries are facing those shortages. Some countries are literally starving to death.

So you are correct Right Now…this is indeed a Global problem.
 
BlueOcean said:
@hearlady , we do inventories too….about three or four times a year. Mostly to keep Hubby out of the grocery store. He thinks we need more food every day. Usually I do the inventory myself. This time I made him help so it physically connected with him how much food we have in this house. It took *3 hours*, but the fridge did get cleaned in the process. 😁

I’m a bit nervous about relying on Ukraine for anything these days…or any other foreign entity. I would far rather support local, given a choice. Often that is not possible. Especially given Canadian winters. But when it is available, I switch.
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Haha some people need to stay out of grocery stores.
I went to the market with a good list and stuck to it so I'm good for a while.
 
Myrtle said:
Going on memory here, I think the forecast wheat shortage had to do with the Ukraine war. Ukraine supplies an amazing amount of the world‘s wheat and their ships were blockaded by Russia. I think that was resolved and the ships could sail so things did not get as bad as feared. If I‘m wrong someone will tell me.
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I thought I heard that too, about wheat. I've had no problem getting flour but the price is higher.
 
Murrmurr said:
But you know why, right?

Whenever experts tell me my diet will give me a heart attack or dementia, or that it's slowly killing me somehow, I think about Holocaust survivors who lived into their 90s after years of eating nothing but a cup of water with a sliver of potato in it. How'd they do it? How'd they come out of that healthy enough to go on and establish a career, get married, and have half a dozen kids and 30-some grandchildren?

Sure, if I my blood pressure was consistently high, I'd avoid the things that make it go higher, but salt isn't the main cause. First thing I'd look at is my job and my relationships and addictions. We're told to use less salt because it's easy, and because advising a person with HBP to make a career change or break-up with an overbearing partner suddenly became unethical somewhere around the 90s, or maybe the 80s, and doctors stopped advising patients to get into counseling for their stress and anxiety long ago because most insurances didn't cover it and resort-type sanatoriums became unaffordable.
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I'm not sure I understand your post. In my post above, I was wondering why products cost more when things were taken out of them, like reduced sodium or reduced fat, etc. What do Holocaust victims have to do with it? Sorry if I misunderstood your post. confused emoji.jpg
 
caroln said:
I'm not sure I understand your post. In my post above, I was wondering why products cost more when things were taken out of them, like reduced sodium or reduced fat, etc. What do Holocaust victims have to do with it? Sorry if I misunderstood your post. View attachment 264550
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I assumed you knew why...that's why I wrote "But you know why, right?"
It's manufacturers cashing in on our fears.

Sorry you don't get the Holocaust survivor connection, but it's not important.
 
Food prices are noticeably up but shortages appear rare or nonexistent for the items I purchase. Costco was in full stock yesterday, and the store where I buy most of my produce had plenty of everything the day before.

At the produce store, potatoes were relatively spendy at $3.99/10 lbs but I bought them anyway. Onions are still expensive at $.79/lb, but I didn't need any, having stocked up, chopped and frozen them when they were on sale for $.39/lb (thanks again for the suggestion, @hollydolly).

On the other hand, beautiful nectarines were $1.29/lb. Nectarines at that price in January? Surely we all remember when "summer fruits" were only available July and August. How spoiled we are... Truth is, I can buy my favorite vegetables and greens year-round, almost always at relatively reasonable prices.

Eggs were $3.50/doz at Costco - didn't need to buy them, but checked out of curiosity. They were limiting one package per customer (so 2 doz or 5 doz). Flour prices hadn't gone up.

One of my grocery flyers shows all types of pasta on sale - $.99/lb. No limit.

Americans may have to tweak our eating habits a bit due to higher prices or shortages from periodic droughts, floods, and other national disasters in various growing regions, but when hasn't that been true? Can't comment on other countries because the US is generally able to feed its population, and that's not true everywhere.
 

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