Poor Man Survival
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A Digest of Urban
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An Industry Insider Just Revealed The Truth About What Is Really Behind The Shortages At Our Local Supermarkets
The supply chain crisis that our supermarkets are facing is far
worse than the mainstream media has been telling us. The mainstream media
keeps trying to put a happy face on the “temporary” shortages, but an industry insider
has let me know what is really going on behind the scenes. This
particular insider runs a grocery store in Maine, and he says that things are
as bad as he has ever seen.
In fact, he says that he has “never seen anything close to
what is happening now”. The email that he sent me the other day greatly
alarmed me, and I asked him if I could share it with all of you. He gave
me permission to do so, as long as I didn’t use his name. I haven’t
received an email this startling in a long time. As you read this email,
I think that you will quickly understand why I am saying that…
I’m self employed for 25 years, now, independent IGA affiliated
grocery store in coastal Maine.
Supply issues are real! My supplier has limited us on orders for
about a month now (limited the physical number of cases we can order)
Their issue is/was mainly the help crisis in their warehouse …
order pickers and truck drivers. Same story everywhere, I know. Many of the
items your reader commented about in this article are the same here … very
limited gatorade, and gallon water is sketchy at best. Sometimes we get it,
sometimes we don’t. I’ve not seen many supply issues in produce, rather poor
quality issues there. Much more than normal. Deli / bakery … yes, lots of out
of stocks and “long term unavailable” as my supplier likes to word it on the
invoice.
In the center store – dry grocery … like others are saying, tons
of out of stocks.
Meat supply is “fair” but pricing is extremely high. Shockingly
high to me. The middle class is slowly being destroyed with these prices hikes
… death by 1000 cuts of sorts, I guess.
My Frito Lay delivery person tells me that he is getting 55-60% of
what he’s ordering. My last Nabisco order had 30% out of stocks. Over the
years, we always get 99-100% of what was ordered. Pepperidge Farm Cookies … he
tells me some weeks he’s only getting HALF of what he orders. These folks all
work on commission …. if they don’t (or can’t) sell it to me … they don’t get
paid. Or get paid less. When we place our liquor order (twice a week) out of
stocks there are running 30% most orders. This commodity was ALWAYS 99.5 to
100% fill rate over the years …. always.
It’s frustrating. As I said … self employed 25 years, and worked
for Kroger for 25 years before that … so 50-51 years in this business.
Never seen anything close to what is happening now. Add to that —
a far left governor, and both houses here in Maine democrat controlled …. I
just know we are on the verge of another mask mandate, and a lock down of sorts
would not surprise me again as we move into the colder months. As you’ve seen
I’m sure, Maine is in the news with COVID case surges (so they say)
I come to work every day just holding my breath for what is next …
for our business and the 35 people I employ here in Maine.
This industry insider is trying to order normal quantities, but
his suppliers are often unable to completely fulfill them.
As you can see from the email, the shortages are widespread, and
this is the worst that they have been during the entire pandemic so far.
If there is something that you need to stock up on, I would grab
it if it is still on the shelves, because pretty soon it may be completely
gone.
On Friday I went to the grocery store and they were out of several
things that I wanted to purchase. Unfortunately, we continue to get more
confirmations that this is going to become the “new normal”.
For example, according
to Bloomberg meat reserves in this country have plunged to dangerously
low levels…
A U.S. report Wednesday showed beef reserves down 7.7% from a year
ago in August. Poultry supplies slumped 20% and pork bellies, which are sliced
into bacon, dropped 44% to the lowest levels since 2017.
In most cases supermarkets still have meat on the shelves, but it
is definitely a lot more expensive than it used to be, and we are being told to
brace ourselves for more price hikes in the months ahead.
Of course other types of retailers are facing severe supply shocks
as well. A few days ago, another reader sent me an email in which he
described what he is seeing at his local pharmacy…
The big issue, however, is at the local drug store; Rite Aid. The
place is thin at best and stripped in some areas (last week there was no Zinc
available). The beer cases are notably sparse. The main issue, however, is at
the pharmacy. Six or eight months ago you could walk in and have your
prescription filled inside of 20 minutes. If you called in the prescription the
day before it was waiting for you.
Not so any more. Yesterday I went to pick up an RX for my wife
that had been called in last week. Not only was it not ready but I had to wait
an hour before it was filled. There were nine cars in the drive up queue. I
opted to walk in and it was nearly as bad. The young woman that helped me was
clearly not local with bicolor hair and a large, glaringly obvious, in your
face, Baphomet symbol around her neck.
I had a chat with the manager on the way out and asked him what
was up with the Pharmacy staffing. I hadn’t seen the regular pharmacist for a
few months. He blamed it all on the city for not having any affordable housing
(lame) and mentioned that Albertson’s pharmacy, Albertson’s and Ridley’s were
all very short on help (true).
Right now, dozens and dozens of drugs are in short supply.
In fact, the official FDA drug
shortage list has 149 entries on it right now.
That is the most that I have ever seen.
As shortages persist, retailers are going to start implementing
more limits. Last week, we learned that Costco has
already started to pull the trigger…
Costco on Thursday said it was reinstating limits on purchases of
toilet paper, paper towels and bottled water.
They don’t call it “rationing”, but that is essentially what it
is.
And we are also being told to expect significant price increases,
because supply chain issues are causing costs to go
through the roof…
Costco this week joined the long list of retailers sounding the
alarm about escalating shipping prices and the accompanying supply chain
issues. The warehouse retailer, which had a similar cautionary tone in May, was
joined by athletic wear giant Nike and economic bellwethers FedEx and General
Mills in discussing similar concerns.
The cost to ship containers overseas has soared in recent months.
Getting a 40-foot container from Shanghai to New York cost about $2,000 a year
and a half ago, just before the Covid pandemic. Now, it runs some $16,000,
according to Bank of America.
I have been warning that rampant inflation and shortages were
coming for a
long time,
but a lot of people didn’t want to believe me at first.
If you were one of those doubters, do you believe me now?
During the first half of this year, many economic optimists
assured us that the U.S. economy would be “booming” by this point.
But instead our economic infrastructure is being shaken on a very
basic level, and we are facing enormous price hikes and very painful shortages
throughout the rest of this year and into next year.
Events have begun to slide out of control, and it certainly
wouldn’t take too much to push us into a full-blown avalanche.
***It is finally here! Michael’s new book entitled “7 Year
Apocalypse” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.***
RESOURCES
Most people have become so dependent on technology that they're
not even a little prepared for a true survival situation, let alone attempting
to survive it without any traditional survival gear.
In a situation such as a natural disaster, terrorist attack, or
economic collapse where you are stranded away from your home and without any
gear, you will have to find simple, everyday items and figure out how you can
use them to survive.
For example, can you get a fire going without a lighter? Would
you know what to do if you got a flat tire? Or if someone a deep cut and you
don't have any first aid supplies? If not, then you should find the hacks in
this article very useful...
21 Urban Survival Hacks You Have To Try
You may also like...
11 Urban Survival Skills That Could Save Your Life
Natural
disasters don't wait for a convenient time
And you shouldn't wait to prepare either. In some cases there is
little to no warning.
Prepare now to lessen the impact of disasters and emergencies
Remember: You can’t buy life insurance after you’re dead!
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4Patriot Solar phone
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72-hour emergency food
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3 Luna Nutrition bars
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Cleaning Wipe Pack+Personal
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battery
https://www.bonanza.com/listings/Volt-Solar-Power-Bank-Great-for-Emergency-Power-Anytime/10
I’ve
purchased a couple of power banks to add to my bug out bags. Do they lose power
over time? How often should I check or recharge them?
-From
Chris D.
Answer: A quality
power bank can hold a charge for up to 6 months.
The thing
is, most power banks will slowly lose charge over time depending on the
temperature the power bank is stored at.
In
addition, lithium-ion, and lithium-polymer batteries used in power banks
eventually lose their capacity (typically between 200 up to 1000 cycles
depending on the battery cell quality.)
The
bigger the battery is, the less cycles you will need to charge it and the
longer it will last. But, I would check them every 6 months if I were you.
Inflation to Rise Faster Than Previously Projected: OECD
Free enterprise, limited
government, individual freedom!
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You Can’t Buy Life Insurance After You’re Dead
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