‘They don’t have it’: One food shopper’s battle with all the empty shelves
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Every day, Trish Albury sends her Instacart customers pictures of empty store shelves — no potato chips, cookies, toilet paper, cutlery and juice boxes. And as she unloads her own groceries into the trunk of her sedan after a recent shop, it really hits home for Albury how some food items have become increasingly scarce, especially during the holidays.
“It’s not that I can’t find it, you know, it’s that they don’t have it,” Albury said.
Albury attributes the scarcity to fewer truck drivers delivering food and to shipping delays. COVID-19 has led to congested port terminals, an exodus of drivers who retired during the pandemic and shifts in customer buying power. As a result, stores have experienced shortages and price increases.
Albury said the empty shelves at her local stores bother her more than the price hikes.
Albury has worked for Instacart for a year, working weekday and weekend shifts. As she makes her runs to CVS, Walgreens, Dick’s Supporting Goods, Sephora, Publix and other stores, she said her customers are shocked but understanding of the missing products. Whenever her Coral Gables Publix restocks with Honest and Juicy cartons, she said she grabs some for her orders and runs back in to snag a pack for her kids.
“Juice boxes,” Albury said. “It’s like there’s no such thing as juice boxes anymore. I swear, ever since school started, there’s no juice boxes.”
This story was originally published December 5, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
