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3.23.20 - How Close To Normal Stock Levels Is Your Grocery? (1 Viewer)

Overall - How Close To Normal Stock Levels Is Your Grocery?

  • 100% normal stock level

    Votes: 3 2.2%
  • 90% normal stock level

    Votes: 10 7.5%
  • 80% normal stock level

    Votes: 17 12.7%
  • 70% normal stock level

    Votes: 33 24.6%
  • 60% normal stock level

    Votes: 18 13.4%
  • 50% normal stock level

    Votes: 19 14.2%
  • 40% normal stock level

    Votes: 12 9.0%
  • 30% normal stock level

    Votes: 12 9.0%
  • 20% normal stock level

    Votes: 8 6.0%
  • 10% normal stock level

    Votes: 2 1.5%

  • Total voters
    134

Joe Bryant

Guide
Staff member
Trying to get a sense for how most grocery stores are stocked. 

I know there were runs on cleaning supplies and toilet paper and such. 

Overall though, how close to normal is the stock level at your grocery? 

Thanks. 

 
Hand sanitizer is always pilfered.  Most other stuff is there.  Places are rationing TP and sanitizer.  Rice, dry beans and noodles are getting hit hard now.

 
Hard to say because its largely specific item based. Definitely zero sanitizer and TP. In the early going, I couldnt find meat, but that seems to be back. I went with 40%. Even the in stock items are on the thin side it seems. 

 
I’d say 80% 

think I’ve been 3 times now since things first escalated 

has definitely improved since I first went a week and a half ago

paper / cleaning products mostly wiped out, was able to get one 6 pack of TP yesterday 

chicken was pretty scarce when I went yesterday

some things like pasta / ramen are low or limited in brand selection 

 
80%

TP/paper towels/sanitizer/wipes get cleaned out quick.

There is meat available, but not all of the types I am accustomed to.

Similar story with canned and boxed foods. May not get preffered brand or type, but can usually find something close to what you're looking for.

Limit signs up for eggs, milk, and bread but there is some available.

 
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Things seem to be getting better than they were a week ago. But it's highly variable between stores except for specific items like hand sanitizer/TP that are tough to find generally. The only thing I've wanted that I still can't find is eggs.

 
Haven't been out since Friday morning, but between 3 stores I was able to find almost everything on my shopping lists.  Still didn't find Tylenol and for some reason couldn't find fresh mushrooms.   :confused:  

As others said, meats, beans, and rice were picked over.  Soups were also slim pickings, as were frozen meals.

I went with 80%.

I did score a sweet 16 pack of TP.  That was a bit of a priority, as we had <10 rolls in the house.  

 
Definitely category-dependent. TP, paper towels and cleaning products are gone. Meat/poultry case were nearly empty for a while, but have rebounded to about 25% - 50% of normal. the cheaper brands of pasta and pasta sauce are gone and about half of the more expensive brands remain.  Bread is about 10%, with signs limiting customers to one loaf and one package of buns.  Canned goods are at about 75%. Dairy/eggs at 50%.  Even baking supplies like flour are down to about 20% of normal (we have started baking our own bread). Fresh produce is near 100% normal--either people don't want that or aren't buying because of limited shelf life. 

 
Haven't been out since Friday morning, but between 3 stores I was able to find almost everything on my shopping lists.  Still didn't find Tylenol and for some reason couldn't find fresh mushrooms.   :confused:  

As others said, meats, beans, and rice were picked over.  Soups were also slim pickings, as were frozen meals.

I went with 80%.

I did score a sweet 16 pack of TP.  That was a bit of a priority, as we had <10 rolls in the house.  
Almost forgot, I did see an entire aisle of pasta and sauce completely wiped out.  Very glad we bought 4 of each and meat a few weeks back before this got really going.  

Maybe my 80% was too high?

 
tough to put a number on it - yesterday at the local grocer, there was no bread, TP, wipes,  eggs and very limited meat. There seemed to be plenty of everything else however. 

 
:shrug:

We order, pull up to the spot, text our number and they bring it out to us

We dont get a lot of the meat we order, but get everything else

 
No packages of boneless skinless chicken breast.  Thighs hit or miss. Some prepared foods with chicken in them.  Some ground turkey and most kinds of beef.  Frozen fish.  Some frozen chicken tenders/nuggets. 

No tp, hand sanitizer, cases of water.  Gallon jugs of water and big bottles limited to two per customer per day.  

Very limited pasta. Bread was there but hit pretty hard. 

No yeast, but plenty of flour, sugar, etc. 

No vacuum packed cold cuts (roast beef, turkey etc)

Frozen foods like pizza and French fries starting to get limited.  

Kids snacks and fruit containers are getting lower.  

Dairy ok but creamer and yogurts getting lower.  

Medicines still ok but some relevant ones (vicks vap o rub,  cold eez) limited or gone. 

 
Couldn't tell you. I have not been there since last week. I am doing my best to stay away from people.

 
We’ve learned that nobody likes the chickpea rotini we eat a lot so there’s usually several boxes of that surrounded by nothing.

70% or so. Soup, pasta, some meats, etc. tough to come by.

 
My buddy sent me a picture of Publix where every single package of meat was gone. HUGE meat department. 
 

I got a brisket from Costco sitting here so I’m just going to grind that up. Things like brisket will always be available to grind, most people don’t know how to bother with that. 

 
Couldn't tell you. I have not been there since last week. I am doing my best to stay away from people.
+1 on this. Last time I went to the store I got there about 15 min after opening. I was hoping there would be fewer people that early in the morning. 
 

Store must have restocked TP overnight because I saw some in people’s carts but there was none on the shelf. Didn’t see any paper towels or Kleenex. Didn’t need any so not a big deal. 
 

Frozen veggies were just about gone, fresh produce shelves were empty except for broccoli and green onions which were full due to an employee stocking while I was there. 
 

Pasta and rice were gone, milk was pretty low too. They had signs limiting milk, eggs, and paper products. I’d say the meat section was about 40% full. 
 

This was north of Dallas. 

 
we stocked up well enough for a three week or so stretch, or so i thought.  

dwindling supplies, mostly food - we're at least a month deep with paper products and gloves and soap/sanitizer.  

but food sure goes fast - i've taken to making daily trips to the bodega or the mini-mart ... i'm avoiding the big stores like the plague, no thank you. 

i time my hits for late afternoon, hasn't been one other customer in the smaller joints any time i've gone in - cashiers wearing masks in both, bodega girl in gloves, to boot. 

pricier than the bigger joints, but it's a small price to pay (literally) for my friggin' sanity. 

though i am easily the most at risk in the household to develop serious consequences if infected, i will not let my gf or daughter do any shopping - i NEED to know every step taken, every person encountered, etc - it's not that i don't trust them to be careful, but i just prefer to control the game, as it were. 

gloves every time i leave the house, cleaning all items out on our stoop, or in our yard. 

getting tight.  

 
In short, it depends. We have some stores that will be gutted by the end of the day. However, there are at least 100 places within 15 minutes from where I leave that are options to get something in terms of food or supplies. National, regional, wholesale, and local stores. Discount, country, and ma and pop stores. Convenience, gas station, hardware, and office supply stores.  Going to your regular store as one stop shopping won’t be an option, but we can still get just about everything. We just got a gallon of hand sanitizer shipped and delivered, so we are good for awhile. 

 
I'm able to get pretty much everything, but have to visit a few stores to secure a few things. I also live near two grocery stores and a target (sells food) so not a huge inconvenience at all.  Stores are restocking pretty regularly so being able to just stop in every couple days is pretty helpful.

 
North of Detroit area- had to visit 5 stores on Sat to get a couple bags of sugar,flour and 2 dozen eggs. Couldnt get any sanitizer type stuff,paper products,chicken or ground beef.

 
Great idea for a thread.

Haven't been in about a week.  Chicken aisle was wiped out.  TP/sanitizer all gone as well, but other soaps and cleaning products well stocked.  

Getting somewhat low on certain items but have enough to last through the month.  We have a 24 hour store down the street here that I usually go to.  I was thinking it's probably best to go super late (like after 11p) to avoid crowds, but I'm worried that's the worst time to go as far as shelf stock is concerned.  Has anyone noticed trends as far as what time the stores are well stocked?

 
Depends when you go. 

I went yesterday at 5:30p. At best most groceries were ⅓ available. 

The only lunch meat available was crappy bologna, low on bread and cereal, and chicken was very low. But they had a good amount of milk and eggs, wine, and cheese.  

Most stores are closed early now and the morning is decently stocked.

 
No chicken, no tp, no hand sanitizer, lucky if there is anti-bacterial soap, very slim pickings in pastas, soups, and bread.   Rice is hit or miss.  Can generally find it in smaller bags.  Bottled water is also getting to be limited in regards to the gallon and affordable brands.  I’m in the Southern California area as answers will vary from location to location. 

 
In Tampa it's really crazy. My coworkers who live near the beach said they're completely wiped out and CostCo has such a long line to get in I don't go there. Target was stocked except for meat, dairy and pasta. They're putting limits on milk and other things. Still tons of produce though.

 
Half the stuff looks normal half the stuff is completely gone. We have two small grocery stores, a dollar general and a dollar tree in our main big city (10,000 people in the county). I heard some people at the store in their phones explaining where they were, that they came all the way here to get stuff from the capital of Florida one county over. I was a little irritated with them. 

 
The meat section of my grocery store is decimated.  I can only guess that people are stockpiling it in an extra freezer.  Has not been any b/s chicken breasts the last 3 visits.  They have steaks.  Seeing the news, I was expecting the TP and bleach and water.  But I finally was able to buy dish soap for the first time in 3 weeks Friday.  Who stockpiles dish soap?

 
I went to two places over the weekend. Paper products totally depleted (despite rules trying to limit purchases to one per). Still reasonably available meat options but very scarce seafood. Produce seems normal. Dairy seems normal. And most packaged goods seem ~90%. Ice cream was pretty decimated. 

I don't think this has all worried me until I got home and my wife commented that we are down to our last roll of paper towels. We are now pretty concerned that we may run out of paper products. I spoke to a grocery manager friend of mine and he commented that if people would just chill for a week that supplies would be back to "normal." But there's basically a line every morning and they can't keep up. 

 
I went to two places over the weekend. Paper products totally depleted (despite rules trying to limit purchases to one per). Still reasonably available meat options but very scarce seafood. Produce seems normal. Dairy seems normal. And most packaged goods seem ~90%. Ice cream was pretty decimated. 

I don't think this has all worried me until I got home and my wife commented that we are down to our last roll of paper towels. We are now pretty concerned that we may run out of paper products. I spoke to a grocery manager friend of mine and he commented that if people would just chill for a week that supplies would be back to "normal." But there's basically a line every morning and they can't keep up. 
I've been curious about paper products. If they're limiting to one pack per person ... I am unsure how they are consistently running out so early every day. I wonder if any paper products stocking goes on during the day, as well?

Might need people to start swiping driver's licenses before purchasing paper products. Like how it's done in the pharmacy with pseudoephedrine products.

 
-All the Publix stores around me and there are a lot, all of them are pretty much OUT of TP, Milk and Cream, Frozen pizzas and most frozen things people would like to eat on for a few days, No chicken and I mean no fresh chicken when I go, limited meat selections but more pork and red meat than any other.

-I have had better success at Whole Foods and more perceived upscale grocery spots, try the Italian market or independent butcher in your area. 

Ragu is like $3 a jar? Nothing on the shelves. I love cans of San Marzano to make my own but again the basic cans of tomatoes are all gone. 

I like Rao's and that runs $8 or $9 a jar so if you have expensive tastes odds are in your favor you can stock up. The stores are out of stuff like Oreos and certain types of potato chips and junk food, however produce was in plenty supply when I went. 

Another good thread idea JB because this comes up a lot in the main thread and it's stressing a lot of folks out. 

-Also, I live in a Condo and many folks live in apartments and like myself don't have a freezer big enough to keep foods for more than a few days. I'm in the grocery store 4-5x a week and buy a lot of fresh food so this has been tough on that kind of lifestyle.  

Edit to add:

-I just got a Publix update on my phone and I'm being told they have supplies of just about everything I mentioned at the top of this post. I would like to buy up a few more supplies so that I have a solid 4 weeks of non perishable food. Right now I'm a little light on lentils and beans. The seafood supply here in Florida has remained in plentiful supply. 

 
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I haven't been in there in over a week.  :shrug:

I may need to break down soon to get some fresh fruit and veggies.

 
40%

All cleaning supplies gone, of course.

Very little dairy, pasta, dried goods, canned foods.

Fresh vegetables and fruits were initially low but have come back somewhat.

Meat and fish are at near normal stock.

And plenty of beer (the only alcohol we can purchase in grocery stores here in Utah)!

 
Most things fully stocked, but meat/chicken is low and limited in variety.   No rice or pasta.   

 
havent been in over 2 weeks - using instacart (highly recommend if you can afford it)

but havent had any issues getting anything.  

 
Ventured out today for the fist time since last Monday.  It's rainy here and I hoped this would help limit people.

Went to my local Aldi as Wegmans lot was still pretty full.  Was able to get most everything I needed.

No TP or any paper products, cleaning supplies/hand Sani.  Was able to get Tide Laundry det.

Some chicken breasts, but no whole chickens or thighs (this is what I wanted)  Was able to get Ground Beef and Ground Chicken

No Flour, limited pasta, but I was able to get sugar for the first time in 2 weeks (Limit2), no issues with OJ/Milk/Cheese, Beans.

Great selection of produce, picked up pineapple, grapes, apples, peppers, celery, carrot, romaine.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised.

 
Meat, Bread, Eggs, TP, cleaning supplies, flour, sugar, rice are constantly sold out. Most of the rest of the store has had plenty on the shelves, save for a few items here or there.

 
I kind of understand why there was a run on paper products early, but I'm surprised this is still an issue.  There is basically no chance of these stocks not being replenished.
Same here. I mean, are the first 200-300 shoppers in every store every day buying TP and paper towels? And nothing is ever restocked in the paper sections until overnight?

 
NYC.

Can't find any of these the few times I've been over the last week:

Paper products

Cleaning products

Meat (fresh, not processed or frozen)

Everything else is fine.

 
I'm in the business as a wholesaler.  Its been a struggle to say the least.  Meat, especially chicken and ground beef are out everywhere.  El Floppo's list is good.  

Bread is starting to come back, but buns are out everywhere.  Bakeries are concentrating on making bread right now.  

 
Depends what time of day you go.
You have a much better chance in the morning if its a Wal-Mart, Meijer (super store type), They require early morning/overnight delivery.  The smaller grocery stores usually get their orders later in the day (9AM and after), so its better to check a little later in the day.  

 
went yesterday AM to local Safeway.

- meat/poultry: there were a few things, but mostly empty shelves

- pasta: pretty good stock, but sauce was limited

- rice: gone

- soup: plenty of split pea...not much of everything else

- milk: running low

- bread: decent stock, but some large holes (no english muffins, no bagels)

- veggies: good inventory across the board

- beer, wine, spirits: beer & wine were well-stocked, noticed bourbon/whiskey priced at <$25/750ml was sold out...also vodka <$25/1.5l sold out except for flavored

- there's a crap-ton of Easter candy, and it's surprisingly expensive (i really don't buy it, but hard to believe a .5lb bag of M&Ms is $8.99)

and speaking of pricing, it seems like most everything is a $1 or $1.50 more than i remember paying previous. not gouging, just not many deals or price breaks. 

 
Thankfully besides Kroger, I have another bigger type market by my home.  Also have 4 smaller produce ,meat markets.

Kroger has been stocked with mot everything.   Dry pasta hit hard, except this higher end stuff.  Frozen foods get hit hard every day.  Very little frozen pizza, veggies, no frozen potatoes like ore ida or fries unless you get them while stocking.

Soups are hit or miss full one day and empty the next.  Plenty of dairy, milk, eggs, yogurt, cheese, ice cream whatever is full.   Meat is hit or miss.  High end steaks still there, ground beef goes fast.   

Frozen chicken breast goes fast, but they are wings galore.  People looking for more bang.

When I shop now I know what people don`t like.  In the canned goods plenty on black eyed peas, frozen had plenty of lima beans and broccoli  but not much else.

No toilet paper ever.  Kroger changed their hours to restock more and the manger told me when they open there are 50-75 people waiting and they race to the paper product aisle like supermarket sweep.

The specialty markets by my home have pretty much everything albeit a higher price.

 
-All the Publix stores around me and there are a lot, all of them are pretty much OUT of TP, Milk and Cream, Frozen pizzas and most frozen things people would like to eat on for a few days, No chicken and I mean no fresh chicken when I go, limited meat selections but more pork and red meat than any other.

-I have had better success at Whole Foods and more perceived upscale grocery spots, try the Italian market or independent butcher in your area. 

Ragu is like $3 a jar? Nothing on the shelves. I love cans of San Marzano to make my own but again the basic cans of tomatoes are all gone. 

I like Rao's and that runs $8 or $9 a jar so if you have expensive tastes odds are in your favor you can stock up. The stores are out of stuff like Oreos and certain types of potato chips and junk food, however produce was in plenty supply when I went. 

Another good thread idea JB because this comes up a lot in the main thread and it's stressing a lot of folks out. 

-Also, I live in a Condo and many folks live in apartments and like myself don't have a freezer big enough to keep foods for more than a few days. I'm in the grocery store 4-5x a week and buy a lot of fresh food so this has been tough on that kind of lifestyle.  

Edit to add:

-I just got a Publix update on my phone and I'm being told they have supplies of just about everything I mentioned at the top of this post. I would like to buy up a few more supplies so that I have a solid 4 weeks of non perishable food. Right now I'm a little light on lentils and beans. The seafood supply here in Florida has remained in plentiful supply. 
And after all of that I went to a couple of Publix stores and there was no TP or anything like what I was told should be there...maybe South Florida is just too far from Lakeland, most of my Publix sources are over on the Tampa Bay side of the state. 

I have enough but I wouldn't mind getting another pack as back up or whatever. I have enough non perishables for now but what about in a week or two? No chicken but plenty of fish still to be had around here. 

Have not done take out since they ordered restaurants closed that was last Thurs/Fri so it hasn't really been that long.

I'm not worried about myself but there has to be a lot of people stressing out always finding nothing...I am starting to run a little low on coffee filters  :unsure:

 
Stores in my area on the Eastside of SEA are just now getting back to about 75% or so of stock after two weeks of being pretty much bone dry of cleaning supplies, TP, canned goods, pasta, and some frozen stuff and meat. 

I heard the WAS governor, Inslee, was making an announcement today, so left my house to get to the store, knowing he was likely going to announce a shelter in place. He did. Lot of people at the store thinking the same thing I was (stock up before the announcement), and while I was there, double or more people came in, to the point that lines waiting for check-out were the full length of the aisles, which were pretty bare bones quickly.

At least they instituted TP and sanitation product maximums (1 package per). Lot of people wearing gloves and/or masks.  

 
Totally depends on when they stock or what the level of panic is that day.  Last week, Friday at about 6:00 PM, about 60%.  Saturday at about 1:00 PM, about 90%.

 
Stores in my area on the Eastside of SEA are just now getting back to about 75% or so of stock after two weeks of being pretty much bone dry of cleaning supplies, TP, canned goods, pasta, and some frozen stuff and meat. 

I heard the WAS governor, Inslee, was making an announcement today, so left my house to get to the store, knowing he was likely going to announce a shelter in place. He did. Lot of people at the store thinking the same thing I was (stock up before the announcement), and while I was there, double or more people came in, to the point that lines waiting for check-out were the full length of the aisles, which were pretty bare bones quickly.

At least they instituted TP and sanitation product maximums (1 package per). Lot of people wearing gloves and/or masks.  
One thing we have working against us here in Florida is even with things shutdown there are lots and lots of people entering Florida every hour on the hour and the half hour from NY and NJ and they are bringing all their CV-19 germs with them. I can't say I blame them for wanting to GTH outta there for a while since it is a hot spot for the Virus. Seems like people in these lockdown areas shouldn't be allowed to fly to other parts of the country at the moment. 

 
Trying to get a sense for how most grocery stores are stocked. 

I know there were runs on cleaning supplies and toilet paper and such. 

Overall though, how close to normal is the stock level at your grocery? 

Thanks. 
We are holed up in Flagstaff so not sure what Phoenix is looking like currently.

It really depends on the store.  The main chain grocery store (Kroger’s) toilet paper and paper towels are cleaned out, but if you get there when it opens they are stocked...they just run out by mid day.  Thus the lines are fairly long at like 6:30 in the morning.  Overall food is much better stocked than a couple weeks ago but still not what it was, maybe this is 70% overall.

Whole Foods is closer to 90% stocked, can pretty much get what you want maybe a few things here and there not in randomly.

 

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