U.S. supermarket shelves really are half-empty, and Omicron isn't the only culprit

When shoppers in Great Britain began posting photos of supermarket shelves filled with stock photos of absent produce last fall, maybe you, consumer in the land of bountiful supermarket options, smirked a little. Well, now the barren shelves — if not the fake photos — have arrived in U.S. grocery stores.
"Some of the culprits for this round of shortfalls are the same as in the early days of the pandemic, and some can be chalked up to new problems bumping up against old ones," The Washington Post reports. Reporter Laura Reiley broke the culprits down into four main categories: The Omicron surge, winter weather, supply chain kinks, and the uptick in the number of people eating at home. But really, all of those reasons are connected, and most of them are tied to the troublesome new COVID-19 variant.
For example, people are probably eating at home more because of concerns about getting infected at restaurants, belt-tightening due to inflation linked to supply chain issues, and children staying home from school due to a COVID-19 infection or Omicron-linked staff shortages at school. And Omicron has caused its own supply chain meltdown, sidelining workers at every step from factories for key ingredients through the transportation sector to the grocery stores themselves.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Companies are reporting more positive COVID-19 tests among workers in the first two weeks of 2022 than in all of 2020, Geoff Freeman, CEO of the Consumer Brands Association trade group, told food industry chief executives in a call Monday. "That's remarkable," he said. "Throw on top of that being down 80,000 truck drivers nationally, and another 10 percent of workers being absent at food manufacturing facilities, and you're putting a lot of pressure on the system all at one time."
Jim Dudlicek, communications director for the National Grocers Association, said "there is plenty of food in the supply chain," but many grocery stores are functioning with less than half of their normal workforce, making it hard to stock shelves and prepare premade meals. Read more about why some of your favorite items may currently be unavailable at The Washington Post.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
America's favorite fast food restaurants
The Explainer There are different ways of thinking about how Americans define how they most like to spend their money on burgers, tacos and fried chicken
-
Law: The battle over birthright citizenship
Feature Trump shifts his focus to nationwide injunctions after federal judges block his attempt to end birthright citizenship
-
The threat to the NIH
Feature The Trump administration plans drastic cuts to medical research. What are the ramifications?
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement
-
Trump calls Amazon's Bezos over tariff display
Speed Read The president was not happy with reports that Amazon would list the added cost from tariffs alongside product prices
-
Markets notch worst quarter in years as new tariffs loom
Speed Read The S&P 500 is on track for its worst month since 2022 as investors brace for Trump's tariffs
-
Tesla Cybertrucks recalled over dislodging panels
Speed Read Almost every Cybertruck in the US has been recalled over a stainless steel panel that could fall off
-
Crafting emporium Joann is going out of business
Speed Read The 82-year-old fabric and crafts store will be closing all 800 of its stores
-
Trump's China tariffs start after Canada, Mexico pauses
Speed Read The president paused his tariffs on America's closest neighbors after speaking to their leaders, but his import tax on Chinese goods has taken effect