Eli Richardson
January 23, 2022
In the U.S. food supply is once again under strain from Covid-19 as cases of Omicron increase causing worker shortages. Worker shortages have led to shelves in stores being empty.
Industry experts say these shortages could continue for weeks or months regardless of if this current wave of Omicron eases. The key to this issue is worker shortages that can change daily due to new infections. There is enough supply of food there is just a struggle to get food transported and one supermarket shelves. The result is that consumers may need to look into buying different brands of products instead of sticking with a brand they are loyal to that may be out of stock.
Another level of food distribution that has been hit hard with new cases has been trucking. Where Korth Transfer, a Wisconsin-based company, has reported that Omicron has impacted Covid-19 cases at the company nearly as hard as the first wave of cases did.
The same shortages in workers for food distribution could also impact food packaging and production and lead to lingering shortages on supermarket shelves. There are current worker shortages in packaging plants for goods such as meat, frozen foods, and canned goods.
With this current wave of Covid-19 cases having such an impact on the U.S. food system, it could spell even longer before supermarkets return to full stock.
Source:(The Wall Street Journal)