Maybe It Is Just Local

But my local Walmart has been out of the 5 lbs bags of Great Value French Fries pretty much all summer. Even the more expensive Ore-Ida fries are very hit or miss as being in stock.

Cheap and easy. And I pan fry like fried potatoes (minimal oil) which makes for a quick side dish without the heat of the oven. Yeah, I should air fry since I have one now but there seems to be a fry shortage.

Anyone else seeing this?

Only if your taking about futurama…. I miss fry……

a reply to: Ahabstar

We do the french fry thing also, but in the air fryer. Comes out really good.

I haven't noticed any significant shortages around here other than the recent normal sporadic shortages of about everything due to the trucking and logistics crisis we're currently experiencing. I usually pick my frozen fries up at the dollar store and they always seem to have some (not a lot, but some). Grocery stores seem to have them also, but the store brands are getting harder to find.

We like the crinkle fries, and they always seem to be the lowest stock. Crinkle fries are awesome. Loved 'em ever since I was a kid. Rarely ever ate frozen potatoes until we got the air fryer, so it's a welcome new change.

a reply to: Ahabstar
If it’s just your local Walmart it may be more about them stocking the shelves than anything else. The one near my house used to be 24 hours but used covid to eliminate third shift. That’s when most stocking is done. Every time I go there it looks like they are about to close the store but it’s because all the staff is used to fill the on line orders and such. They’ve gotten to the point where they roll out the pallets to the aisle and just leave them for customers to pick through. I’ve decided to just go with the 10lb bag of potatoes and make my own. And it’s not just the frozen food section, it’s basically every aisle in the grocery section that has bare spots on the shelf. Just depends on the day of the week. The pet food aisle especially cat food always seems to be empty.

a reply to: BuddytheYorkie

I guess it was my question. Is it an under-ordering issue? Supply issue? Or was there an overwhelming number of air fryers bought and being sold as soon as it hits the bin. They keep them in freezer bins not the freezer aisles next to pizzas and frozen vegetables.

No one around here really wants fast food if they can’t eat it there unless they are so pressed for time they have to eat and drive. The exception is picnic in the park at a table/bench. People do not eat in their cars like they used to do in the 70’s and 80’s.

Less buying McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s could mean more cooking burgers and fries at home. But it just seems odd that one product is constantly out. But with it being the store brand...one would think they would order more. And there never seems to be an “empty spot” where they should be. Great Value Shredded Potatoes are there. Occasionally tator tots too. Just no fries. Which are crinkle cut fries. And never any steak fries anymore either, come to think of it.

you can use potatoes...

we've had a wing shortage at my restaurant for about 6 months now. I think it has to do with texas freezing over and losing a lot of their product and having to restart.

a reply to: Ahabstar

No, it's a logistics issue.

You do know about the serious trucking and logistics crisis we are facing right now, right?

Assets are in the wrong places, and companies are not willing to pay to get them into the right locations, so they're pushing this expense off onto the truckers. The truckers would rather sit than spend several hundred dollars of their income to drive across the country empty to get another load, so it's a stand-off.

The truckers will win, but only when none of us can buy frozen french fried potatoes.

ETA - This is one of the reasons Walmart, and others, win. They are willing to pay driver by the mile driven, not the loaded mile...loaded or not. BUT, it's a rigid business!

a reply to: Ahabstar

My local piggly wiggly keeps the fries in old type floor freezer with no top. Last year fries were always full to near the top. This year, they've been out a lot, and never had the huge inventory like they used to keep.

I think it's a thing.

The only real shortage I'm seeing is in proteins. I work in restaurants for a living. Chicken and beef are almost double what they where. Shortage on tropical fruits. Shortage on or terrible quality on avocados. A bunch of little things. Mixed with the exodus of people leaving restaurants. stagnant hiring with rising wages in the sector. Dont blame them. Even though wages are rising, cant find anyone. No one wants to be over worked with little to no benefits, if you can even afford them. That's why everyone is jumping ship in restraunts and changing careers. There is no labor shortage. Theres a pay shortage.

The hardees down the street from me is paying 15/hr right now. Let that sink in. Fast food.

It could be because of something that was mentioned on the news last week. That the heatwave out west was causing problems with the potato crop. High temperatures & hot soil can cause them to stop growing.

I read an article that said it can cause too high a sugar content too. It shows up as a dark color when they are made into fries. It didn’t mention anything about it affecting flavor or texture. Maybe it’s just an aesthetics issue? If they turn that gray color, like the air turns them when they sit out too long after they are peeled, that would look gross!

WOQ

a reply to: GroidNificent

Seems to be a self-defeating loop.

Over pay to get help. Then no customers from an over priced menu. Cut labor because not needed. Cannot keep dining open do to less employees. Lose more customers. Cut more labor. Lose rest of workers from over worked. Lose more customers from too slow of service.

No frozen french fry shortage here at all. A specific brand may be out of stock if it is on sale on occasion, but that has always been the case.

We just made homemade real french fries for supper, I make them in the french fryer with corn oil. I wash the potatoes well and make homefries with the peel on. They are really good fried in the corn oil.

Yuca frita es mejor

Expanding the horizon and expanding the parameter
Expanding the rhymes of sucka MC amateurs

a reply to: Ahabstar

No issues at all on any frozen potato products here. My biggest pain has been the cost of brisket. I heard chicken would go up, so I bought $100 in drumsticks, thighs, and whole hens. Damn near filled up a chest freezer, and I still have chicken left. But brisket...i won't pay more than 3/lb for brisket. Pork butts being over 2 a lb sucked too, but thats starting to normalize again. Ribs have always been reasonable, surprisingly.

I have nothing to add here since I'm not in the US and there is no shortage here.

Except!

Fries.. are NOT French. They are Belgian and the French stole the title!
They don't even know how to make them traditionally!

I'm very strict when it comes to our fries!

So finally was able to chat with a cashier and she told me that the big problem is lack of workers in the warehouse.

That day, there was no yellow mustard of any brand (Heinz, French’s, etc) even that sad generics were sold out. A couple spicy brown mustards were it.

Honestly it looks like the place is going out of business walking down the aisles.