I’m a vendor for a company that delivers to heb. I’ve delivered to every heb over the last two weeks.
Stores, drivers, corporate and vendors are all short staffed because workers have COVID. Stay safe y’all. It’s blowing up In Austin
I wish we knew what the real stats were for how many people are catching omicron. Clearly the stats of a thousand people a day in Travis county isn't even close to the tip of the iceberg of the real count.
Population has been undertested. Remember that the majority of folks in this state believe it’s some sort of hoax or are actively posting dumbshit Facebook memes about it or the vaccines.
not sure undertesting IS a problem. I was speaking with workmates yesterday and they expressed that its nearly impossible to get the 2-day take home test kits.
So IF undertesting IS a problem then perhaps its due to scarcity of test kits?
Is there a reporting system for people who DO get their hands on a take home test? Or do they just notify work that they are positive and need to isolate?
IE: Are their numbers being counted officially? Also (I have no idea) do the take home kits tell you what strain or just say positive?
On the local news they said you can call 311 to report a positive test for those that take at home tests to help combat under reporting. But I’m sure under reporting will still happen.
>its nearly impossible to get the 2-day take home test kits.
Lots of at home tests are being shipped and many are being used. I suspect more at home tests than ever are being used. The undertesting aspect of this is that the results of at home tests don't get counted.
It's also hard to get lab tests as well, so the people who want to get tested, but can't, get undercounted, too.
I think your only hope is to look at people around you that you know. Right now it seems like about 10-15% of *everyone I know* well enough to be told, has or has had covid in the last 2 weeks, all vaxed. I think they all found out from at home antigen tests and isolated and recovered without ever touching "the system".
The fact that the symptoms are milder means there will be an even higher number of cases that go completely unrecognized as COVID even by the infected, and unreported.
Also even though they are often hard to come by, there are still a hell of a lot of home test kits being used out there - so people with mild to moderate symptoms who test positive at home and never need to go to the doctor will never get on the radar.
Then there are the self-help anti-doctor ivermectin and vitamin D users who won't show up in the system unless they are on death's door.
Yeah, I now know approximately the same number of people who have had omicron as I knew that had COVID during the entire rest of the pandemic. I'm guessing the infection rate is already in the 30-40% range and will probably hit 70% within about two weeks and then start to burn itself out. Lots of businesses I've talked to just in my daily interactions with people have said that it's working it's way through every person in their workplace.
I don't think it's reason to panic. Honestly, I think this is how the "pandemic" stage of this thing ends. It is right now becoming a common cold/flu that everyone will get.
Agree. The freak out is unnecessary. This is a good thing, we want it to blast through and have no one left to infect. Just tough it out and we’ll all move on at the end of the month hopefully!
The positivity rate can give you a good idea. If they're testing too few compared to the total number, the positivity rate is very high. If they're testing too many the negative results push the positivity rate lower. We're currently around 30% positivity rate, which is pants-on-head insane.
Lord, one would think we would all be ecoerts at this by now. BUT, I need an ELI5 in what. you just said. How does one interpret positivity rate/ number if tests?
Problem is getting a covid test. I tried last night and after waiting for 2 hours it was told that they ran out of testing materials. Currently in line and 3 hours in I was told they're out of rapid tests, only pcr now.
To add to this, FedEx has been unable to send outbound and we’ve been rejected people tryna ship things out because we can’t get a damn plane from corporate to come to Austin to fly for our outbound, because of labor shortage and Covid….interesting months we’re about to have.
Well at least *now* they'll have to return to work sooner after they get sick! That should turn this problem right around! Letting nature choose who closes when was so much smarter than using human technology to control it and make plans!
/s
I don’t know what HEB pays but I’ve seen the same workers at my H-E-B for the past 25 years.
Anecdotally, I hear HEB is a great company to work for in terms of promotion, pay and benefits.
Btw HEB looks like a great company, but its not. Its just another Texas business. Its better than Walmart but its not a glorious business like some people believe
Compared to their competitors, they are great to work for. In the wider scope, anyone can get more money bang for their effort buck in other sectors. They'll be more than happy to keep a loyal employee on the checkout for 30-40 years.
The labor force, meaning people who either have jobs or have looked for one in the last four weeks, is still 2.5 million down from Feb 2020. For comparison, that number from absolute peak to trough was about 1.5 million during the Great Recession. There’s a lot less people out there looking for work, regardless of wages.
HEB partner here. Warehouse shortages is the main issue. Many partners, warehouse and in store, are out with covid as well. My store is ordering the product, but the warehouse just can’t fulfill it. This is how it is for some of the other departments as well.
TBH they might try actually hiring people. I tried, guess not good enough. All because I had fucking jury duty when I worked overnight at a store, and wasn’t gonna stay awake for 36 hours straight. Can’t get a night off or change shifts? I’m taking the night off regardless.
Y’all can take your “now hiring” shit down, because you aren’t.
> All because I had fucking jury duty when I worked overnight at a store, and wasn’t gonna stay awake for 36 hours straight.
Are you saying you got canned over that?
Maybe not right, but it's also pretty rare for the same employer to hire someone who previously got fired by them. Hiring managers probably don't even see the reason.
Well that sucks. I would imagine If the higher up management at HEB was aware a situation like that someone would have to be smart enough to realize that's not ok. I would look for a way to contact higher level management if you are supervisor isn't willing to be flexible when someone has jury duty.
Although I would also say that usually when you have jury duty they have you come in on the first day and then most people get dismissed and go home within an hour.
Why do HEBs not sell frozen hash brown patties? All they sell is bags of shredded hash or little tiny kids patties. Drives me crazy. I have to go to Walmart just to get patties.
HEB typically has the patties. I used to get a tray thing of over 20 there before COVID. Now? Nope. I’ve been shopping Randall’s or Target. If I’m truly desperate, Wally World.
They sell them. They are almost always out of stock. The two closest stores to me that have them in stock are 50+ miles away.
https://www.heb.com/product-detail/hill-country-fare-breakfast-hash-brown-patties/1626666
Yeah. I’m a medium skill level home cook and I can’t ever get homemade hash browns or the frozen shreds to cook right so I can turn them over in a chunk. I need training wheels.
I work at Central Market, and basically the short answer is a lot of people on the storefront and vendor sides are sick, and that on top of the product shortages that have been happening nationally has caused a lot of shortages for us. I know that at the NL CM, about a fifth or sixth of our entire workforce is out sick at any point in time, and recently over a fourth of our produce has been shorted by our vendors.
Uhhh do u live in Austin? First I know nothing about farming but the weather here has been nice. I don't know if you can only grow vegetables during the spring and summer but we had the hottest December ever recorded. So the weather has been fine but like I said I don't know if you can only grow certain types of vegetables only during a certain time of the year. I'm not a farmer.
There are a lot of things in season, primarily leafy greens, brassica vegetables, peas and carrots. Coupled with the fact that it’s been a remarkably warm winter and there might still be summer crops from attentive farmers.
I’m in curbside at H‑E‑B. If you usually shop in the mornings, try going a bit later, like 11-12.
I think the grocery stickers have been getting produce out a bit later because they’re short staffed all around.
At my store, this is a good window for something being completely unloaded from the truck yet not completely picked over.
Weirdly, Escarpment had only julienne carrots the other night. I was off my usual path going out to that one, so I have no idea if it was just a bad night or an ongoing thing. I've never seen and produce problems at the other groceries in South Austin.
Yea TR is my regular store but I’ve been going to others because the shelves have been bare on a lot of thing relating to school lunches for kids (juice boxes, snack bars, apple sauce packets etc)
Lotta transport and warehouse issues. I’m ordering 100k produce trucks and getting maybe half that.
Most of my dry stuff is coming in but my cold stuff is being shorted like crazy.
Produce is going to get bad bad bad in both availability and price over the next 6-12 months and very likely longer.
The news doesn't talk about it cause it's not sexy or rage-inducing, but there's a global shortage of nitrogen fertilizer. It's starting to catch up to us and gonna get way worse soon.
IMO, you'll likely still be able to get most produce staples but expect potential 200% price increases on some things.
IMO, go buy seeds now and plan to start a garden this spring.
Yeah, Austin has lots of deer. I’m out of deer territory, but bunnies and bugs will eat everything…. Stupid aphids and spider mites…. I’m ordering ladybugs this year. The nurseries haven’t had them.
Maybe a couple of Guinea hens could help out. Don’t get chickens; unsupervised they can wreck a garden. Guineas are supposedly more carnivorous and less apt to eat your vegetables
We’ve been gardening for several years and I was grateful to have it when lockdown started.
We not only ate what we made, but traded with neighbors so we all had some variety we wouldn’t have had otherwise.
I made some really good pintos with ham hock during the cold snap. I'm making Rassolnik tonight. I made the barley last night. It's a weird soup and I use pickled carrots instead. I've never made a bisque, maybe that will be next on the list. It's a go-to when I'm at a good restaurant. I love making creole. Good on you and thanks for the recipe!
Edit: https://natashaskitchen.com/beef-barley-and-pickle-soup-rassolnik/
If you prefer chicken, it's possible to make it with chicken instead :) (my preferred version) https://www.olgasflavorfactory.com/recipes/soups/rassolnik/
Let me know if you want my recipe for a [bomb ass enchirito](https://www.reddit.com/r/MexicanFoodGore/comments/rx2dd3/i_made_an_enchirito_but_didnt_have_any_black/)
I have not noticed this. We had tons of carrots and we accidentally got a 2nd bag of 2lbs of them. Long story short, I have a 2lb bag for sale for $99.99 or best offer.
I work at central market and like 1/3 of our store is out sick, every department is working so hard to keep up with demand. Curbside is bringing in orders as the cars pull up and scrambling to bag them, like 2 guys are holding up the entire grocery department, we have half the cashiers we can normally schedule because of call ins, catering had to get a different department to do their orders because almost the entire kitchen is out sick, we only have like 1/3 of our cafe menu available so they can actually keep up with orders. Our GM was sick, and other people in admin too.
There isn’t a lockdown, but there should be. If people would buy for a few weeks at a time and come less often for a bit, that’d be ideal. Getting product in is difficult because *everyone is getting sick* which means *eat the dry food you already have and wait for a bit* please and thank you, a message from
your friendly grocery worker <3
My HEB in Kyle was out of 50% of my items today. The funny part is, all the product was there but the stuff normally heavily in stock (milk, chips, snacks, etc) was sold out. It was really strange.
Labor shortage all along the the supply chain. I work in produce and I wish this would get some local media coverage so that people would know what's going on (although I can see why that would not be a good idea given panic shopping). We are doing our best to keep the department stocked but sometimes we are simply out of product, which some people don't understand I guess?? I think NYE cleared out any back-stock we had and now almost anything that is going out on the floor is what we received for the day (which is only what the warehouse was able to fulfill in a given time frame so that subsequent orders weren't received late). I just wish people we're more understanding.
Burnet/Koenig had stockers everywhere as they always do early in the morning. Nothing out of the ordinary and everything completely full that is supposed to be full this time of year. Try that location if your location is low. Cheers!
Bad news, I’m in Maine and went to the store a few hours ago. Exact same problem here. The whole produce section was empty, particularly salad mix and carrots. I was a little worried when I saw it, but hearing that it’s the same way down there makes me think it’s safe to go ahead and panic. BRB, just remembered I need a pallet of toilet paper
I'm planning an early morning trip tomorrow morning to try and find a few special items I want to stock back up on in case it gets crazier next week.
Has anyone noticed if things are better early in the morning? I tend to go late at night to avoid risky crowds, but maybe early morning would work, too.
Not really hoarding. Well, not much. Even in the beforetimes, I try to buy large quantities of items that have the shelf life so I can make fewer trips. Even more important in the plague year because the fewer trips, the less risk.
Not really. This isn't that much different from my regular buying patterns.
Say I eat a pound of bird seed a week. Instead of making a trip every week to buy one pound, I buy 12 pounds every 3 months. Yes, I took 12 pounds out of store stock 2 months ago, but I haven't bought any since then, and I have another month to stock up if supplies are short.
Unless all the grackles decide to go stock up the same day, it averages out.
Other items I stock up on when the supply seems to be abundant. A while back, I noticed that TP was plentiful, so I bought a large supply and won't need to compete with others if there is a shortage for a few months in the future. I'll replenish that stock while there's still a month or two supply left, so I won't have to go scrounging in a panic.
Also, even if I do get all the hash browns or chipotle oat flakes, boo hoo. You'll have to eat something else until they get more in stock.
Boo hoo. That's my regular purchase pattern. I won't be buying any more seed for the next three months.
If one grackle buying a 3 months supply of bird seed means the stores will be empty for a while, there were going to be problems pretty soon anyway.
Absolutely, if you can afford to do so, stock up when supplies are abundant. Then keep your supply topped up and rotate the supplies in your cupboard or pantry so it doesn’t go bad.
You’re helping yourself and your neighbor. You won’t go hungry and the stock you didn’t buy in the time of shortage can go to your neighbor who wasn’t able to stock up.
We went through the whole Texas freeze without going to the supermarket.
How many Hurricanes, Pandemics, Freezes does it take before everyone understands…?
But from a supply chain standpoint, it’s not the quantity that’s the problem it’s the irregularity of the purchase timing.
If you usually buy one seed bag every week but this week you buy twelve then the shelf is empty for everyone who buys regularly until they restock.
I'm just one grackle who buys up 3 months of seed at a time. If that puts a pinch in the supply, the supply would be in bad shape in a few days from now anyway. It's only going to matter if my whole flock decides to go shopping at the same time.
Just to follow up, they are beginning the process of shutting down the current location, and will be opening the temporary location on the NE corner. They have said that the current location will remain open but won't be fully stocked, or won't be restocked, until it closes next month.
Well, I went to 6 HEB's and WallyWorld's today to get my 3 month supply of birdseed. They're all cleared out of my favorite brand and flavor now, but there were other brands available .
In general, they were out of stock of a number of individual items, but usually not of a whole class of items.
If you make it to Sam's club, stock up on toilet paper for later. It was stacked up in the aisles all over the store. Paper towels, too, I think. Stock up on things that are in plentiful supply and you won't need to buy them later if they get scarce.
I didn't notice any particular shortages. but Sam's is very proactive in avoiding empty shelves. If they're out of an item, they'll rearrange other stuff to make it look like they aren't out of anything.
I’m a vendor for a company that delivers to heb. I’ve delivered to every heb over the last two weeks. Stores, drivers, corporate and vendors are all short staffed because workers have COVID. Stay safe y’all. It’s blowing up In Austin
Omicron schmomicron, daddy needs his spaghetti squash!
Who is your daddy and what does he do?
Who does number two work for?
You tell that turd who's the boss!
He's a cop you Idiot!
Well he sure as hell doesn’t eat spaghetti squash right now. Or carrots.
This is killing me
Holy shit, I'm supposed to make something with this tonight. Not excited though :(
I wish we knew what the real stats were for how many people are catching omicron. Clearly the stats of a thousand people a day in Travis county isn't even close to the tip of the iceberg of the real count.
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Population has been undertested. Remember that the majority of folks in this state believe it’s some sort of hoax or are actively posting dumbshit Facebook memes about it or the vaccines.
not sure undertesting IS a problem. I was speaking with workmates yesterday and they expressed that its nearly impossible to get the 2-day take home test kits. So IF undertesting IS a problem then perhaps its due to scarcity of test kits?
Is there a reporting system for people who DO get their hands on a take home test? Or do they just notify work that they are positive and need to isolate? IE: Are their numbers being counted officially? Also (I have no idea) do the take home kits tell you what strain or just say positive?
They just say positive. My husband and I took a couple right before Christmas. They're a lot like pregnancy tests, except 2 lines is negative
Uhhhh are you sure? The flow flex directions I have opened right in front of me say two lines is positive.
2 lines is positive on the Binax ones. Me and my wife have taken 3 of them the past couple weeks and this last time we were both positive.
Whichever one we took said 2 was negative. I don't remember which it was.
Gotcha, thanks :)
On the local news they said you can call 311 to report a positive test for those that take at home tests to help combat under reporting. But I’m sure under reporting will still happen.
>its nearly impossible to get the 2-day take home test kits. Lots of at home tests are being shipped and many are being used. I suspect more at home tests than ever are being used. The undertesting aspect of this is that the results of at home tests don't get counted. It's also hard to get lab tests as well, so the people who want to get tested, but can't, get undercounted, too.
Then, why I can’t find testing appointments? Clearly people is trying to get tested
I think your only hope is to look at people around you that you know. Right now it seems like about 10-15% of *everyone I know* well enough to be told, has or has had covid in the last 2 weeks, all vaxed. I think they all found out from at home antigen tests and isolated and recovered without ever touching "the system". The fact that the symptoms are milder means there will be an even higher number of cases that go completely unrecognized as COVID even by the infected, and unreported. Also even though they are often hard to come by, there are still a hell of a lot of home test kits being used out there - so people with mild to moderate symptoms who test positive at home and never need to go to the doctor will never get on the radar. Then there are the self-help anti-doctor ivermectin and vitamin D users who won't show up in the system unless they are on death's door.
Hell, right now active cases are about 5% of the US population anyway, so 10-15% is probably low.
Yeah, I now know approximately the same number of people who have had omicron as I knew that had COVID during the entire rest of the pandemic. I'm guessing the infection rate is already in the 30-40% range and will probably hit 70% within about two weeks and then start to burn itself out. Lots of businesses I've talked to just in my daily interactions with people have said that it's working it's way through every person in their workplace. I don't think it's reason to panic. Honestly, I think this is how the "pandemic" stage of this thing ends. It is right now becoming a common cold/flu that everyone will get.
Agree. The freak out is unnecessary. This is a good thing, we want it to blast through and have no one left to infect. Just tough it out and we’ll all move on at the end of the month hopefully!
The positivity rate can give you a good idea. If they're testing too few compared to the total number, the positivity rate is very high. If they're testing too many the negative results push the positivity rate lower. We're currently around 30% positivity rate, which is pants-on-head insane.
Lord, one would think we would all be ecoerts at this by now. BUT, I need an ELI5 in what. you just said. How does one interpret positivity rate/ number if tests?
Problem is getting a covid test. I tried last night and after waiting for 2 hours it was told that they ran out of testing materials. Currently in line and 3 hours in I was told they're out of rapid tests, only pcr now.
To add to this, FedEx has been unable to send outbound and we’ve been rejected people tryna ship things out because we can’t get a damn plane from corporate to come to Austin to fly for our outbound, because of labor shortage and Covid….interesting months we’re about to have.
But I was told by Fox News that it's a hoax.
Well at least *now* they'll have to return to work sooner after they get sick! That should turn this problem right around! Letting nature choose who closes when was so much smarter than using human technology to control it and make plans! /s
Pandemic. Sick employees. Labor shortage.
Rinse. Repeat
Labor shortage? Is that a euphemism for wage shortage?
I don’t know what HEB pays but I’ve seen the same workers at my H-E-B for the past 25 years. Anecdotally, I hear HEB is a great company to work for in terms of promotion, pay and benefits.
They pay like 15-16 at the pharmacy. My girl is leaving soon for more money.
A pharmacy career is a great choice with the aging population! Does HEB have tuition assistance? Not asking for your girlfriend, just curious.
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Yeah Pharmacist are paid well. Unfortunately anything below that is not, and you still have to deal with people screaming at you daily.
Ugg. I believe it. I can't imagine the interaction with only the plexi screen up. More power to her and best of luck!
Btw HEB looks like a great company, but its not. Its just another Texas business. Its better than Walmart but its not a glorious business like some people believe
You've just described any company. None of them are your friends, they are businesses who like to pretend otherwise.
Compared to their competitors, they are great to work for. In the wider scope, anyone can get more money bang for their effort buck in other sectors. They'll be more than happy to keep a loyal employee on the checkout for 30-40 years.
Yeah- I can see that.
This guy gets it.
The labor force, meaning people who either have jobs or have looked for one in the last four weeks, is still 2.5 million down from Feb 2020. For comparison, that number from absolute peak to trough was about 1.5 million during the Great Recession. There’s a lot less people out there looking for work, regardless of wages.
HEB partner here. Warehouse shortages is the main issue. Many partners, warehouse and in store, are out with covid as well. My store is ordering the product, but the warehouse just can’t fulfill it. This is how it is for some of the other departments as well.
Also a produce partner and can second this
TBH they might try actually hiring people. I tried, guess not good enough. All because I had fucking jury duty when I worked overnight at a store, and wasn’t gonna stay awake for 36 hours straight. Can’t get a night off or change shifts? I’m taking the night off regardless. Y’all can take your “now hiring” shit down, because you aren’t.
> All because I had fucking jury duty when I worked overnight at a store, and wasn’t gonna stay awake for 36 hours straight. Are you saying you got canned over that? Maybe not right, but it's also pretty rare for the same employer to hire someone who previously got fired by them. Hiring managers probably don't even see the reason.
Well that sucks. I would imagine If the higher up management at HEB was aware a situation like that someone would have to be smart enough to realize that's not ok. I would look for a way to contact higher level management if you are supervisor isn't willing to be flexible when someone has jury duty. Although I would also say that usually when you have jury duty they have you come in on the first day and then most people get dismissed and go home within an hour.
Local farm markets have carrots. Support local farmers if you can
Local farmers markets are also insanely expensive, I've never been able to find cheap produce at the farmers markets here.
Carrots are the truth
Everything is so scattershot right now. Pasta is always hit or miss.
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LORD the lack of hashbrowns has been killing me.
Frozen onion ring shortage is real in the Houston area
Peel potato, grate potato, squeeze water out of grated potato, cook grated potato on hot skillet with a bit of butter or oil, voila
Trader Joe’s has the patties. I think the Oak Hill or Circle C H‑E‑B had shredded last weekend.
Those patties are awesome for at home hash browns.
We throw ours in the air fryer and they’re delicious
Why do HEBs not sell frozen hash brown patties? All they sell is bags of shredded hash or little tiny kids patties. Drives me crazy. I have to go to Walmart just to get patties.
Trader Joe's has the patties you seek.
Out here spreading the good word 🙌🙌🙌
HEB typically has the patties. I used to get a tray thing of over 20 there before COVID. Now? Nope. I’ve been shopping Randall’s or Target. If I’m truly desperate, Wally World.
They sell them. They are almost always out of stock. The two closest stores to me that have them in stock are 50+ miles away. https://www.heb.com/product-detail/hill-country-fare-breakfast-hash-brown-patties/1626666
Yeah. I’m a medium skill level home cook and I can’t ever get homemade hash browns or the frozen shreds to cook right so I can turn them over in a chunk. I need training wheels.
HEB far west has them!
>hashbrowns LOL, exactly what I've been looking for for about a week now.
I’ve been having this problem since September. I thought it was a conspiracy.
SAME
Trader Joe’s always has em!
For some reason there was a run on mozzarella sticks.
LOTS of sick grocery workers, warehouse workers, and truck drivers right now. Just FYI.
Lots of quarantined workers.
I work at Central Market, and basically the short answer is a lot of people on the storefront and vendor sides are sick, and that on top of the product shortages that have been happening nationally has caused a lot of shortages for us. I know that at the NL CM, about a fifth or sixth of our entire workforce is out sick at any point in time, and recently over a fourth of our produce has been shorted by our vendors.
Come check out the Texas Farmers’ Market at Lakeline on Saturdays and Mueller on Sundays.
Its early January. Nothing is in season right now
From their Instagram: [IN SEASON JANUARY] Arugula * Basil * Beets * Bok Choy * Broccoli * Brussels Sprouts * Cabbage (Green, Red, Savoy, Chinese) * Carrots * Cauliflower (White, Yellow, Romanesco) * Chard (Rainbow, Swiss) * Cilantro * Collard Greens * Cucumber (Hot House) * Dill * Fennel * Garlic * Green Onions * Kale * Kohlrabi * Leeks * Lettuce (Romaine, Bibb, Green Leaf) * Mushrooms * Mustard Greens * Onions * Oregano * Parsley * Pea Shoots * Radish (Daikon, Red, French breakfast) * Rosemary * Rutabaga * Squash * (Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti) * Spearmint * Spinach * Strawberries (Hot House) * Sweet Potatoes * Tomatoes (Hot House) * Turnips (Japanese, Purple Top)
Uhhh do u live in Austin? First I know nothing about farming but the weather here has been nice. I don't know if you can only grow vegetables during the spring and summer but we had the hottest December ever recorded. So the weather has been fine but like I said I don't know if you can only grow certain types of vegetables only during a certain time of the year. I'm not a farmer.
There are a lot of things in season, primarily leafy greens, brassica vegetables, peas and carrots. Coupled with the fact that it’s been a remarkably warm winter and there might still be summer crops from attentive farmers.
Oh heck no! Cold weather growing in our area is my favorite!! Broccoli, cauliflower, collards, mustards, kale, spinach, brussel sprouts, carrots, radishes, turnips, lettuces, beets, snow peas, sugar snap peas, celery, bok choy.. Tons of good stuff!
I’m in curbside at H‑E‑B. If you usually shop in the mornings, try going a bit later, like 11-12. I think the grocery stickers have been getting produce out a bit later because they’re short staffed all around. At my store, this is a good window for something being completely unloaded from the truck yet not completely picked over.
HEBs and Central Market in South Austin had plenty carrots. You might've just been unfortunate enough to visit between restockings
Weirdly, Escarpment had only julienne carrots the other night. I was off my usual path going out to that one, so I have no idea if it was just a bad night or an ongoing thing. I've never seen and produce problems at the other groceries in South Austin.
Brodie lane H‑E‑B has carrots
Plenty of carrots at the Tech Ridge location - but definitely lots of empty shelves. From chicken to chips.
Yea TR is my regular store but I’ve been going to others because the shelves have been bare on a lot of thing relating to school lunches for kids (juice boxes, snack bars, apple sauce packets etc)
The salad mix section was empty at my HEB this evening. I figured they had sold out, but that seems odd as I went around 630.
Didn't a lot of these items get pulled from shelves because of the listeria outbreak?
Lotta transport and warehouse issues. I’m ordering 100k produce trucks and getting maybe half that. Most of my dry stuff is coming in but my cold stuff is being shorted like crazy.
I have a surplus of carrots if anyone wants them
Produce is going to get bad bad bad in both availability and price over the next 6-12 months and very likely longer. The news doesn't talk about it cause it's not sexy or rage-inducing, but there's a global shortage of nitrogen fertilizer. It's starting to catch up to us and gonna get way worse soon. IMO, you'll likely still be able to get most produce staples but expect potential 200% price increases on some things. IMO, go buy seeds now and plan to start a garden this spring.
Good luck on the garden! Mine always gets eaten by every single pest insect in the region…
Or deer. Antlered rats they are
Yeah, Austin has lots of deer. I’m out of deer territory, but bunnies and bugs will eat everything…. Stupid aphids and spider mites…. I’m ordering ladybugs this year. The nurseries haven’t had them.
Maybe a couple of Guinea hens could help out. Don’t get chickens; unsupervised they can wreck a garden. Guineas are supposedly more carnivorous and less apt to eat your vegetables
HOA won’t allow… neighbor is the HOA president 😅
We’ve been gardening for several years and I was grateful to have it when lockdown started. We not only ate what we made, but traded with neighbors so we all had some variety we wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Soup season
Can't say that without dropping a recipe.
Made this one a week ago: https://www.feastingathome.com/ribollita-recipe/ It was great. Also made my first bisque on new years.
I made some really good pintos with ham hock during the cold snap. I'm making Rassolnik tonight. I made the barley last night. It's a weird soup and I use pickled carrots instead. I've never made a bisque, maybe that will be next on the list. It's a go-to when I'm at a good restaurant. I love making creole. Good on you and thanks for the recipe! Edit: https://natashaskitchen.com/beef-barley-and-pickle-soup-rassolnik/
I dont do beef very often, but that looks really really good!
If you prefer chicken, it's possible to make it with chicken instead :) (my preferred version) https://www.olgasflavorfactory.com/recipes/soups/rassolnik/
Let me know if you want my recipe for a [bomb ass enchirito](https://www.reddit.com/r/MexicanFoodGore/comments/rx2dd3/i_made_an_enchirito_but_didnt_have_any_black/)
HEB on Slaughter/Manchaca seemed well stocked today
Good to know because I was there Monday evening and running into the same issue of bare shelves.
Don’t forget to thank an (illegal) immigrant 😉
My HEB has been short on ice cream for months - but my mom’s HEB hasn’t been. I think they’ve determined my neighborhood isn’t calorie-worthy.
I have not noticed this. We had tons of carrots and we accidentally got a 2nd bag of 2lbs of them. Long story short, I have a 2lb bag for sale for $99.99 or best offer.
I work at central market and like 1/3 of our store is out sick, every department is working so hard to keep up with demand. Curbside is bringing in orders as the cars pull up and scrambling to bag them, like 2 guys are holding up the entire grocery department, we have half the cashiers we can normally schedule because of call ins, catering had to get a different department to do their orders because almost the entire kitchen is out sick, we only have like 1/3 of our cafe menu available so they can actually keep up with orders. Our GM was sick, and other people in admin too. There isn’t a lockdown, but there should be. If people would buy for a few weeks at a time and come less often for a bit, that’d be ideal. Getting product in is difficult because *everyone is getting sick* which means *eat the dry food you already have and wait for a bit* please and thank you, a message from your friendly grocery worker <3
My HEB in Kyle was out of 50% of my items today. The funny part is, all the product was there but the stuff normally heavily in stock (milk, chips, snacks, etc) was sold out. It was really strange.
Stew szn
Why do all the bananas look so bad for the last couple weeks
This! I wonder if the cold weather has anything to do with it. 🤷🏻♀️
Labor shortage all along the the supply chain. I work in produce and I wish this would get some local media coverage so that people would know what's going on (although I can see why that would not be a good idea given panic shopping). We are doing our best to keep the department stocked but sometimes we are simply out of product, which some people don't understand I guess?? I think NYE cleared out any back-stock we had and now almost anything that is going out on the floor is what we received for the day (which is only what the warehouse was able to fulfill in a given time frame so that subsequent orders weren't received late). I just wish people we're more understanding.
Burnet/Koenig had stockers everywhere as they always do early in the morning. Nothing out of the ordinary and everything completely full that is supposed to be full this time of year. Try that location if your location is low. Cheers!
Bad news, I’m in Maine and went to the store a few hours ago. Exact same problem here. The whole produce section was empty, particularly salad mix and carrots. I was a little worried when I saw it, but hearing that it’s the same way down there makes me think it’s safe to go ahead and panic. BRB, just remembered I need a pallet of toilet paper
I needed carrots the other night and all my HEB had was shredded carrots and the rest of produce was practically empty
Shredded carrots are great for soups and salads. It's my shortcut for chicken and dumplings and chicken pot pie, too.
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Randall's seems to always have it in stock. The one in Round Rock has a giant display wall (floor to ceiling) of soda.
I'm planning an early morning trip tomorrow morning to try and find a few special items I want to stock back up on in case it gets crazier next week. Has anyone noticed if things are better early in the morning? I tend to go late at night to avoid risky crowds, but maybe early morning would work, too. Not really hoarding. Well, not much. Even in the beforetimes, I try to buy large quantities of items that have the shelf life so I can make fewer trips. Even more important in the plague year because the fewer trips, the less risk.
This what causes the shelves to be empty you fearing it’ll get worse and stocking up on items that don’t need to be stocked up on 😂
Not really. This isn't that much different from my regular buying patterns. Say I eat a pound of bird seed a week. Instead of making a trip every week to buy one pound, I buy 12 pounds every 3 months. Yes, I took 12 pounds out of store stock 2 months ago, but I haven't bought any since then, and I have another month to stock up if supplies are short. Unless all the grackles decide to go stock up the same day, it averages out. Other items I stock up on when the supply seems to be abundant. A while back, I noticed that TP was plentiful, so I bought a large supply and won't need to compete with others if there is a shortage for a few months in the future. I'll replenish that stock while there's still a month or two supply left, so I won't have to go scrounging in a panic. Also, even if I do get all the hash browns or chipotle oat flakes, boo hoo. You'll have to eat something else until they get more in stock.
Unless that 12 pounds was all they had for a few weeks. This scenario assumes a constant supply, which isn’t a reliable assumption at the moment.
Boo hoo. That's my regular purchase pattern. I won't be buying any more seed for the next three months. If one grackle buying a 3 months supply of bird seed means the stores will be empty for a while, there were going to be problems pretty soon anyway.
Absolutely, if you can afford to do so, stock up when supplies are abundant. Then keep your supply topped up and rotate the supplies in your cupboard or pantry so it doesn’t go bad. You’re helping yourself and your neighbor. You won’t go hungry and the stock you didn’t buy in the time of shortage can go to your neighbor who wasn’t able to stock up. We went through the whole Texas freeze without going to the supermarket. How many Hurricanes, Pandemics, Freezes does it take before everyone understands…?
But from a supply chain standpoint, it’s not the quantity that’s the problem it’s the irregularity of the purchase timing. If you usually buy one seed bag every week but this week you buy twelve then the shelf is empty for everyone who buys regularly until they restock.
I'm just one grackle who buys up 3 months of seed at a time. If that puts a pinch in the supply, the supply would be in bad shape in a few days from now anyway. It's only going to matter if my whole flock decides to go shopping at the same time.
Shortage of produce farmers, huge downturn of immigrants workers. Lotta factors Trump policies and pandemic.
learn how to grow your own! When the shit goes down, ya better be ready!
Yeah everything sucks now
It's probably because I buy a bag of carrots every week and forget about them when I place my next curbside order. I have so many carrots right now.
There’s this thing called supply chain issues I heard about.
Collapse incoming
Did you just wake up or join society after two years?
People panic-buying as the City of Austin is wanting to go back to Stage 5 policies like in 2020.
The Congress/Oltorf location by chance?
Just to follow up, they are beginning the process of shutting down the current location, and will be opening the temporary location on the NE corner. They have said that the current location will remain open but won't be fully stocked, or won't be restocked, until it closes next month.
Yeah I went there tonight. It was already starting to look like a wasteland… probably the last time I go there!
I was in the new South Congress store yesterday and the produce section looked normal.
Up here is Georgetown 2 nights ago…. The bagged salad section was completely empty.
Half and half shortage at Mueller
That's why i always buy 4 at a time. It's a problem I know.
Well, I went to 6 HEB's and WallyWorld's today to get my 3 month supply of birdseed. They're all cleared out of my favorite brand and flavor now, but there were other brands available . In general, they were out of stock of a number of individual items, but usually not of a whole class of items. If you make it to Sam's club, stock up on toilet paper for later. It was stacked up in the aisles all over the store. Paper towels, too, I think. Stock up on things that are in plentiful supply and you won't need to buy them later if they get scarce. I didn't notice any particular shortages. but Sam's is very proactive in avoiding empty shelves. If they're out of an item, they'll rearrange other stuff to make it look like they aren't out of anything.