Supermarket Disappointment

Other places around the world deal with shortages and inflation.  Lines and rations happened in the Soviet Union and in leftist South America, a very compelling reason to avoid being leftist, one that sells in America today.  Not that we haven't had rationing of the World War II era or periods of uncontrolled inflation that voters remember at the next opportunity.  We have, though they are transient.  For my consumer lifetime, I've lived amid abundance.  For most of my earning years, I've lived amid prosperity, though fortunately imprinted with a restraint on boundless consumption.

I look for what's on sale, even seeking something out that I don't really need because its price has been reduced.  My basket fills easily at Shop-Rite and before that at Pathmark, the Boston area's Stop & Shop, and metro St. Louis' Schnuck's.  As long as I had a car I could buy as much as I wanted, a level of consumption that usually exceeded what I needed. Over time these became megamarts.  Food manufacturers learned that Kosher certification has a return on investment, so availability of Kosher increased with other abundance.  Megamarts became big box stores, including Martinetti's in Boston and Total Wine for anything alcohol in states that do not allow unrestricted sales in their supermarkets.

In order to have this, we need a global economy that starts with producers who can sell to distributors who provide the retailers that I patronize.  Once an orderly and lucrative process, perhaps even competitive to restrain prices, my trips to some of my usual sources of groceries showed evidence that all might not be well.  In addition to my own nutrition, I've invited an old friend, recently bereaved, who now lives alone for shabbos dinner in our Sukkah.  Creating an eclectic menu, challenging for me but very doable, I listed ingredients, noting which are best obtained at Trader Joe's, Shop-Rite, and Sprouts.  While the latter is highly targeted to produce, the other two afford some browsing time, usually resulting in a small amount of impulse buying.  

On my visit to Shop-Rite, shortages became evident.  Some produce items had run out, particularly the advertised sales.  Some of the price labelling could have been better.  Most significantly, as my household's experienced grocery shopper, prices for many of my frequent items had risen.  I expect fresh fruits and vegetables to fluctuate with season, with apple prices declining with the annual fall harvest about to arrive.  They haven't yet.  Potatoes, onions, mushrooms, citrus, greens each cost a few cents more than they had a few months ago.  Coffee approaches prohibitive except for the item on sale. Last time I got Maxwell House, my least favorite despite my appreciation for their Hagaddah efforts.  Now that can depleted, and only Maxwell House is on sale for replacement.  I will postpone ground coffee until next week's Shop-Rite circular with a new coffee special takes effect.  Kosher meat has declined in variety and up ticked in price.  A reason to eat less of it, though I already had cut back more for nutritional goals.  Egg prices fluctuate, Trader Joe's usually offering the best buy.  Recipe staples like flour and sugar command an additional few cents per package.  Juices cost more.  Pasta has a brand on sale each week, but the discounts seem less and the base prices for what is not on sale has risen.  And for the first time, pasta which has an indefinite shelf life, has some varieties unavailable.  I no longer buy squishy commercial bread or the evil soda, but my casual impression is that those prices are also a few cents more per package, even when on sale.  The limited shelf life forces the megamarts to discount high selling brands with some frequency. 

Between retirement and Covid, I have almost no reason to shop for clothing.  As long as I keep a stable weight, my clothing collection should last forever.  I don't know what a shirt, tie, or pants costs.  Baseball caps and T-shirts seem a bit higher in price.  I'm a sucker for loading up on school supplies that I no longer need.  Those disposables seem to cost about the same, the durables like binders I don't know.  The seasonal nature of these would be a disaster if the supply failed during the one opportunity to exploit consumer demand, so there doesn't seem to be a price or supply disruption.  Birthday's distribute over the year.  While electronic greetings have become the norm, the greeting card industry remains vibrant, selection ample, though prices definitely on the upswing, despite declining consumer demand.

I already have too much furniture and tools, so not much reason to shop for these.  I'm a much less frequent customer of Home Depot and Lowe's than I once was.  Seasonal gardening needs seem to cost slightly more but shelves seem fully stocked.

I'm a prosperous consumer, rarely forced to purchase.  Some do not have the same purchasing discretion or purchase power that it has been my good fortune to have.  Higher prices are noticed by weekly shoppers whose carts start to take on different contents, usually less desired contents.  While higher fuel and medicine prices provoke voters more than other forced purchases, the change in discretionary purchase gets noticed.  Scapegoats are not hard to identify.  Villains are much more difficult to exposes.