In short supply

KateLynn Slaamot
NLJ Correspondent
 
While many people expected a somewhat difficult year when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States in March, just how people and industries would be affected by this unprecedented time in United States and global history was unknown. 
While the pandemic has had a negative effect on the health of many around the globe, impacts have also been seen in the economy and in businesses, specifically small businesses. Closures, stock shortages, layoffs and suspensions of services have been widely observed in industry and manufacturing.
Kelly Wood, owner of Woody’s Food Center, told the News Letter Journal about some of the shortages he’s experienced since March. Just like many other stores in the country and world, Woody’s first shortage was in toilet paper, paper towels, Kleenex and other paper products. Cleaning supplies were also a hard-hit commodity. 
Subsequent shortages included bread products, as well as baking ingredients such as flour, sugar, eggs and yeast as people began making their own bread products. 
“Produce held out pretty good,” Wood said. “Dairy, dry goods and frozen products took the biggest hit.” Wood explained that while goods aren’t as hard to keep on the shelf as they initially were, some items are still difficult to come by. Processed lunch meat is still in low supply, and Wood said that shortages come in somewhat of a rotation. Some weeks certain products are doing well, and other weeks they take a dip. 
“We’re ordering whatever is available,” Wood said, noting that to deal with the shortages, the store is just taking note of what they’re low on and attempting to get the product on the shelf for the consumer as soon as possible. 
The other grocery store in town, Decker’s Market, has experienced similar shortages. Clint Mullen, store director, said that canned meats, seasoning packages and rice were hard-hit items. Like Woody’s, Decker’s perishable items, such as produce, stayed pretty steady, but nonperishables, like canned items, have been grabbed up quickly. Mullen said that shortages have been somewhat random for Decker’s too, and the store does not always know what items will be unavailable.
“You order it and you just can’t get it,” Mullen said, noting that while items are sometimes marked as unavailable, most of the time he doesn’t know if he’ll actually receive items he’s ordered. 
So, what is causing these shortages?
“It’s not a shortage; it’s a supply and demand,” Wood said. 
He explained that each warehouse has a certain amount of product on hand, as does the manufacturer. The amount of stock is related to demand for the supply, and when there is a sudden surge in demand, these supplies are wiped out and manufacturers fall behind in production. 
When people start to panic buy items, it begins a “chain reaction,” quickly resulting in shortages in items as manufacturers try to catch up with production. 
“I do think panic buying was a big part of it,” Mullen said. Another factor that Mullen mentioned was that, as restaurants and schools were closed, more families were baking and cooking at home. 
Both Wood and Mullen said that their main focus is getting as much product for the customer as possible. While the market is stabilizing somewhat, both stores are still seeing less variety in products as manufacturers narrow their focus to get caught up on more fundamental products.
“We need to make sure we’re keeping product on the shelf,” Wood said. Even if they don’t have as many name-brand products or diversity, that is still better than nothing, he said. 
“We’d love to get back to some normalcy. We’re trying our best,” Mullen said. “We’re all better off if everyone has a little bit.” 
Hattie Conley, owner of Isabella’s, said that restaurants have been impacted as well. It has been difficult to get gloves, something that is necessary for food service industries during this pandemic, she said. Due to the increase in demand for gloves, a case of gloves that may have cost around $30 before March now cost upwards of $200, according to Conley. 
In addition to gloves, the restaurant industry is also having a hard time obtaining certain food items. Isabella’s has switched to a rotating menu every three weeks, to limit the amount of food it needs to have on hand. 
One of the first food items to suffer was beef, Conley said, with lettuce and dairy soon following suit. Due to these shortages and the principal of supply and demand, prices have skyrocketed. 
“Dairy is very, very high still,” Conley said. 
One of the disturbing reasons behind these shortages, Conley said, is that vendors that supply restaurants with their food had nowhere to take the food. With restaurants closing, vendors were stuck with perishable food items with no one to buy them. Consequently, huge amounts of fruits and veggies rotted, and now, these vendors are trying to catch up with new production. 
“Our producers at this point are now behind,” Conley said. 
Another reason, Conley said, was that certain processing plants were being shut down due to coronavirus scares among the worker population. 
While Conley did experience some shortages, she was also able to get some items that grocery stores couldn’t because of vendors that only sell to restaurants. For a time, Conley sold food items to the community that they needed that she could get from her vendors. 
“We just got creative,” Conley said. “People really, really liked it.”
Conley mentioned another pressing issue related to the coronavirus pandemic – the decline of small businesses. With business restrictions, among other factors, small businesses have been suffering while larger corporations and online businesses like Amazon have been flourishing, according to Conley. 
“Keep trying to buy local,” Conley said, noting the importance to keep small businesses and small farm and ranch operations in business. 
Food industries aren’t the only ones being impacted. Zach Pickle, manager at Frontier Home, Ranch and Hardware, said that his store has been experiencing deficiencies in freezers, jars, canning supplies, gardening and other items because their suppliers are behind in production and low on workers. 
“I had to start looking elsewhere for goods,” Pickle said. 
Frontier has also experienced the typical shortage of paper products. In addition, as more American workers are being furloughed or working from home, they have suddenly found themselves with more time to do home improvement projects, causing shortages in those supplies too. 
Theresa Hershey, owner with her husband, Randy, of CLT Flooring and Furnishings , has been doing well with the flooring side of their business, she said. Beds and furniture, on the other hand, have taken a hit. 
Special-order beds, which used to take roughly a week to arrive, are now taking as long as a month, and special-order furniture, which used to take roughly six to eight weeks, is now taking upwards of four months. Hershey said that some of the same materials used for furniture and beds is also used in personal protective equipment, and that is the cause for these shortages. Fortunately, Hershey was ahead of the game and ordered furniture in advance, so that the shortage has been somewhat delayed, although the furniture store has still felt the effects. 
“We just have to keep going,” Hershey said, adding the importance of the economy staying open for the welfare of small businesses. 
While the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted many areas of everyone’s lives,  business owners are hopeful that it will get better. 
“The market is starting to recover,” Wood said, noting that the shortages are already starting to improve. 
Pickle is also optimistic that once the hiccup in the supply chain works its way out, things will get back to normal. 
“It most definitely will get better,” Pickle said. “I think we are not too far from that point.”
In the meantime, consumers are encouraged to buy only what they need and help the supply chain by not over-purchasing products. However, there’s a plethora of other factors causing the shortages that go beyond those mentioned. 
In addition, Newcastle’s business owners say that they have experienced great support from the community through this time, and for that they are thankful.