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   From: fjb@yahoo.com   
      
   No, you're not imagining it. Some grocery store shelves are bare   
   again, conjuring bad memories of spring 2020 for many.   
      
   Social media is rife with images of empty supermarket aisles and   
   signs explaining the lack of available food and other items. Stores   
   such as Aldi have apologized to customers for the shortages.   
      
   The reasons for the dwindling stock are numerous, according to food   
   industry analysts, and include some issues that impacted retailers   
   at the beginning of the pandemic as well as challenges that have   
   cropped up more recently.   
      
   "We're really seeing the perfect storm," Phil Lempert, editor of the   
   website SupermarketGuru.com, told NPR.   
      
   Lempert said the Northeast is facing some of the worst shortages   
   now, due in part to recent winter storms that snarled transportation   
   routes, but that could change with the weather.   
      
   But Nate Rose, the communications director for the California   
   Grocers Association, said any comparison to March 2020 is not quite   
   right.   
      
   "There are some issues with out-of-stocks, but it tends to be a   
   situation where if you go to a store on a Tuesday night, maybe   
   something's out of stock, but by Wednesday sometime it's back in   
   store," Rose told NPR.   
      
   "Everyone's become really reliant on kind of that just-in-time   
   supply chain," he added, "and I think what we're seeing is things   
   are just behind a little bit right now."   
      
   Some conservatives have begun using the hashtag #BareShelvesBiden to   
   blame the current administration for the shortages, even though   
   grocery stores experienced serious supply problems under President   
   Donald Trump, too.   
      
   Here are some of the reasons driving the current supply shortages at   
   your local supermarket:   
      
   The omicron variant   
   The highly contagious new COVID-19 variant that's causing record   
   infections in the U.S. is undoubtedly one of the biggest stressors   
   on the food industry right now.   
      
   Grocery store workers are catching the virus in higher numbers and   
   calling out sick, making it tougher for markets to keep shelves   
   stocked. The stores themselves are finding it harder to source   
   products because of the new strain.   
      
   Vivek Sankaran, CEO of the grocery store chain Albertson's, said in   
   an earnings call that the company had been hoping to recover from   
   recent supply issues but omicron "put a dent in that."   
      
   "There are more supply challenges, and we would expect more supply   
   challenges over the next four to six weeks," Sankaran said on   
   Tuesday.   
      
   It's more than grocery stores, though. There are workers all across   
   the food industry supply chain who are getting sick and staying   
   home, impacting food production, manufacturing, shipping and   
   distribution.   
      
   The food company Conagra, the parent company of brands such as   
   Duncan Hines and Healthy Choice, is just one seeing a rise in   
   "omicron-driven absenteeism," President and CEO Sean Connolly said   
   in an earnings call last week.   
      
   "It's entirely reasonable for all of us to project that the next   
   month or so could remain strained within the supply chain as Omicron   
   runs its course," Connolly said.   
      
   Labor shortages   
   In addition to workers becoming infected with COVID-19, there are   
   those who have simply quit.   
      
   Lempert said the pandemic has turned grocery stores into   
   "battlefields," with employees required to work in person throughout   
   the pandemic, explain food shortages and new public health measures   
   to customers, and try to keep themselves safe and healthy in the   
   process.   
      
   "As a result of that, a lot of people said, 'Hey, I don't need   
   this,' and they've left their jobs in the supermarket," Lempert   
   said.   
      
   A recent survey conducted by the National Grocers Association found   
   that many of its member retail and wholesale grocers reported   
   operating their stores with 50% of their normal workforce.   
      
   Supermarkets are beginning to offer higher pay, better benefits and   
   even tighter security to attract new applicants, Lempert said.   
      
   Trucking and shipping   
   Truckers are also in short supply, though there's some dispute about   
   how bad the situation really is.   
      
   Trucking companies are offering higher wages to attract workers, but   
   employment levels still aren't high enough to meet the demand for   
   ground transport.   
      
   In December, the White House announced a plan to bolster the   
   trucking industry, including making it easier for drivers to get   
   commercial driver's license, or CDLs.   
      
   Severe weather and climate change   
   Climate change isn't a new problem, but it's one that's still vexing   
   the food industry. Severe weather events are becoming more frequent   
   and intense across the world as the planet warms.   
      
   According to Lempert, growers are yielding less corn and soy to feed   
   farm animals, which is having a downstream impact on the price and   
   availability of meat, eggs and dairy products.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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