Oddly enough, this week it seems to be razors, hair products and pasta. The empty shelves where pasta should be might be a fluke as I haven't seen anything in the national news about the "Great Christmas Pasta Shortage of '21". The others make sense.

A few weeks ago (at least for me), the shortages seemed to be frozen chicken and canned cat food. But I digress...

But not all states are experiencing the same "shortages". Heck, even different regions of ONE state can see lower levels of vastly different products or food items.

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All reputable sources with close connections to both retailers and suppliers, (such as SuperMarketNews.com, ProgressiveGrocer.com, GroceryDive.com, etc...) all seem to point to the same basic problems. And those problems aren't necessarily the same generic reasons we've heard over and over.

Let's start with what's in short supply as of December 2021, according to Taste of Home: (Note - Other than pet food, specifically canned cat food, and frozen chicken, I haven't noticed a local shortage of any of the items that make the 'national' list.)

  • Liquor
  • Bottled Water
  • Lunchables
  • Pet Food
  • Chicken
  • Turkeys
  • Canned Goods

The months-long scarcity of many brands of pet food (or much higher prices at least), stem from higher input costs...the ingredients such as corn, meat, etc. Another culprit for items like this is aluminum. (Notice that Kwiky Marts don't have the greatest selection of single cans these days? Aluminum.)

Don't fret. There are still plenty of brands available for purchase at specialty stores or grocery stores. However, there's a decent chance your usual brand or flavor may be low or completely out for a bit.

photo: Michelle Wolfe
photo: Michelle Wolfe
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The 'liquor shortages' I found surprising, simply because I haven't experienced any issues locally. But there ARE supply issues in many regions and it's apparently a multi-faceted problem.

First, import and shipping costs are much higher than we've seen in many years. Second, there seems to be trouble sourcing glass bottles. (Jesus, can't we figure out a way to make recycling glass cheaper and easier???) Lastly, some booze takes a long time to make and the powers that be are simply behind. Turns out that America drank quite a bit during stay-at-home months.

So next time you hit the grocery store, take note but don't freak out. Your favorite razor blades just might be out of stock but nobody's hoarding them. The cat might have to make due with Friskies instead of whatever expensive foo-foo brand he's used to. (Trust me, the cat will eat when they get hungry enough.)

[PHOTOS] Bozeman Lights Up the Holidays 2021

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