My pizza place was closed though. Everyone out with covid. And it wasn't the usual cashiers over at the grocery; I think they may have been temps, because they didn't know how to do anything.
We literally LOST a place to buy groceries, as a good part of a town just burnt to the ground after (it seems to be coming to light[0]), a local cult decided to burn a railroad tie and left it smoldering while 100mph+ winds were being recorded.
My King Soopers closed for renovations because of a domestic terrorist shot and killed a few people last year[1],
And today, workers at King Soopers are starting their strike (which I support!).
Given I also live in a unique enough geographic area where the land west of me for a few hundred miles includes mostly mountains, no groceries stores exist there - so the stores that are left are getting (to put lightly) hammered.
And also Covid, shipping logistical problems, shortages with delivery drivers - pile it on.
Affording to eat is getting more and more difficult.
[0] I want to make clear that these are allegations, and no arrests have been made, but it's not looking great for the cult.
https://kdvr.com/news/local/twelve-tribes-property-history-o...
[1] https://kdvr.com/news/boulder-grocery-store-shooting/records...
[2] https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/workers-nearly-8...
Regarding stores, this may seem a bit out of touch, as I assume their prices are probably more expensive and I also don't know what their stock is like, but a friend of mine recently opened a new (small) grocery store[0] downtown[1]. I'm no longer in the area so I've never been there, but perhaps they will have some better in stock or better in price than some other options.
Anyway, just wanted to pass along in case it may help you.
[0]: https://nudefoodsmarket.com/ [1]: https://g.page/nudefoodsmarket
Want to stress that the fire investigation is ongoing, but there's a lot of evidence pointing the start of the fire being on the Twelve Tribe's property. But I don't want things to become a witch hunt.
> But I don't want things to become a witch hunt.
And i appreciate the qualification on this...I'll just try to follow it more closely than I had been before.
Boulder was never exactly a cheap place to eat, but you do have other choices: several Whole Foods, Safeways Lucky's and a Trader Joe's etc... I'm told Alfalfas went under during covid.
Also, the Farmer's Markets Downtown when in season.
Personally speaking, food costs have been artificially suppressed for far too long in the US; it has led to a situation in which food waste is abhorrently common. If this is what creates a paradigm shift, then so be it.
Moreover, Boulder's community garden space is always an option if you can get in--right now you'd be limited on options with anything other than brassicas outside of a greenhouse.
This is a much needed reset for Boulder in my opinion. It should live up to the values it supposedly promotes.
Sidenote: I used to shop at that King Soopers in Table Mesa when visiting, too. Scary stuff...
And that cult owns the Yellow Deli on Pearl street mall, right?
Safeway relinquished their ownership of Lucky's to the original owners!
https://www.dailycamera.com/2021/06/09/lolitas-market-and-de...
The Yellow Deli is indeed owned by the Twelve Tribes. It's currently closed.
They actually talked to the California Grocers Association, and quoted the CEOs of Albertson's, the nation's largest supermarket company; and Conagra, one of the largest food companies on the planet. Not exactly anecdotes. These are people with access to real data.
I haven't seen any, myself.
I've seen it.
I have a regular bi-weekly list, and a lot of the items are getting harder and harder to find.
I have to try two or three stores, and even supplementing with Amazon Fresh, I still can't get everything.
Two of the chain supermarkets near me have signs up apologizing for the empty shelves, saying they're stocking them as quickly as they can. Which tells me this is a staffing issue, not a supply issue.
Yes. (Though that doesn’t mean they are wrong or misleading in this case.)
Which is why it is wise to look at actual objective nationwide data first. Anecdotes are useful in suggesting where to check real data (or gather real data if missing).
Whoever is gathering supermarket pricing data on a nationwide basis (secret shoppers) would objectively know what’s happening, if anything, and if it is local or regional or nationwide. An actual news agency would have contacted them and paid for the general non-proprietary regional/national info.
I agree with your take on this being a staffing issue where you are, if they are posting those sorts of signs and actively hiring.
Contrary to what Hollywood and the internet would have you believe, not everything is a conspiracy. Inventing conspiracies any time something doesn't meet your worldview is just plain lazy.
As for providing the hard data, if that's what you're after, subscribe to the Wall Street Journal.
This is NPR. It's a radio network. It produces radio-sized reports. It just happens to also put those reports in text form on the web as a convenience.
It's great that you're interested in the data. Go find it. It's out there. NPR isn't going to hand it to you on a silver platter. That's not what NPR is for. That's not what radio is for.
Whoever is gathering supermarket pricing data on a nationwide basis
The federal government does this every month. The data is available. Go nuts.
https://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news
Want to know about truck rates and availabilities?
https://mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov/filerepo/sites/default/fil...
Want to know about fruit pricing at retail in the northeast?
https://marketnews.usda.gov/mnp/fv-report-retail?repType=wiz...
Advertised consumer prices by commodity for the current week?
https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/wa_lo100.txt
Where are bell peppers on the US market coming from, how are they getting there, and what do they cost?
https://www.marketnews.usda.gov/mnp/fv-report?commAbr=PEP&ro...
How is this year's shipping volume compared to last years?
https://www.marketnews.usda.gov/dmr/DMR20220112FV.pdf
What's available at the Boston Produce Market?
https://www.marketnews.usda.gov/mnp/fv-report-top-filters?st...
Your anecdote is as good as mine.
Investigative journalism with many samples is worth more than either anecdote.
The point is, the article would be less sensational and more informative if it could point to some kind of systematic data source--even one they collected themselves. But they don't.
Starbucks has been completely out of espresso beans on multiple occasions this past month too. It's unclear to me how a Starbucks even stays open without espresso beans, but apparently not all their beverages actually contain freshly pulled espresso... I've only ever gotten shots of espresso.
Walmart has been out of some multivitamins for over a month now too.
I don't buy much stuff from these vendors, this actually amounts to a large portion of crap I consume that isn't just organic produce and canned sardines which I've fortunately not had trouble acquiring. The above is kind of the luxury junk I can do without, but there's clearly problems.
The Starbucks down the block hasn't been able to get the flavor syrup I like since before Christmas. Like with your chicken, the manager says they just can't get it.
The Starbucks store actually closed for a week not very long ago. I thought it was because of the 'rona. The manager said it was just that they didn't have enough staff and had to cover other stores.