I remember when the COVID pandemic first hit in early 2020 and grocery store shelves were wiped out. And waiting on lines for hours just to get into stores that didn’t have most of the stuff I needed.
Water, eggs, meat, produce. Scarce. People fighting over the last loaf of bread. That was a scary time. And don’t get me started on the toilet paper hoarding, but that’s an article for another day.
Once you live through something like that, those empty shelves and thoughts about “how am I going to feed my family” are always lurking in the back corner of your brain. And they tend to reappear when the slightest of incidents pop up.
Food shortages are quick attention-getters, for sure. Every news channel hones in on the fear factor to get ratings and makes a bad situation even worse. Neighbors get in your ear about the latest horror story from the food store.
I remember when egg prices went through the roof last year and had a dozen limit per customer. My first thought went to what would life without eggs be like.
What’s real and what’s fear when it comes to food shortages? Knowing the answer to that question will help you make smarter, calmer decisions when a crisis hits.
Food Shortage Talk
It keeps coming back. Whether it’s beef or eggs or poultry or whatever the next thing is, the talk never seems to go away.
Food insecurity is always on our minds. And I guess at some level, that’s a good thing. It helps keep us alive.
But the talk tends to ramp up when supply chains are affected, a natural disaster or big storm hits, inflation spikes sending prices through the roof or military conflicts and trade restrictions send things sideways.
I’ve seen some situations clear up in a week; others drag on for months.
Knowing What’s Real
When food shortage scares arise, I notice the noise level amps up to about a twelve. You want to be able to filter what you’re hearing and seeing so you can be prepared for what’s coming. Things like:
Short-Term Disruptions
During the early months of COVID, I remember going to three different stores just to find chicken breast. The shelves weren’t completely empty, but the only chicken they had was thighs and legs. That’s really what most “shortages” look like.
Trucks get delayed, processing plants slow down or everyone suddenly wants the same item at once. Eggs completely disappeared for a couple of weeks, but I made do with other alternatives.
You just adjust, use what you have and wait for things to settle back down.
Rising Food Costs
Shelves could be full, but with inflation sending prices sky high, most folks can’t afford to be consistently buying the things they normally would. A dozen eggs were over $5 recently. I’ll pass.
When inflation hits, be on the lookout for higher prices, smaller package sizes and costs of things like meat, dairy and produce jumping around a lot more than usual.
I like to stock up when things are on sale. Definitely helps in preparing here.
I made the mistake of turning my nose up at a London broil sale price of $2.99/lb. a few months back. Now, good luck seeing it at $5.99/lb.
Regional Supply Issues
Crop failures and water shortages wreak havoc. Storm-related delays, too. Not much we can do about it. If you don’t have a stored supply built up of what’s affected, find an alternative to get you through.
What’s Often Exaggerated
You can usually spot the gloom and doom scenarios right away. Like the total food system collapse.
It generally comes from your neighbor’s wife who heard from the girl at the drycleaners that her sister said grocery store shelves are going to empty for months across the country. You can consider that noise.
As we saw even during COVID, food production keeps going during a crisis. Supply chains adapt and reroute and the government steps in and makes getting food to the people the priority.
Then there’s the “No Food Left” narratives. When people see photos and videos of empty shelves, panic naturally sets in. These are typically shortages of specific items or even groups of items, not the whole food supply.
Throw in the One-Day Doomsday Predictions where all the food will disappear overnight, causing mass starvation, to round things out. You can lump this one in with the zombie apocalypse.
Secure Food Like a Prepper
You want to be ready for a food shortage, but you also don’t want to overdue it. I had a friend at Oswego where I went to college, Jeff, who grew up in Vernon in upstate New York. He would always say stuff like, “build a buffer, not a bunker,” when there was a shortage on something. Unless it was beer.
A few weeks to a few months of shelf-stable food is what you’re looking to have. Things you already eat and know how to make. This will help you ride out those minor crises.
Choose foods that store well, can be mixed into many different meals and don’t need complicated prep work. I shoot for rice, beans, pasta, canned good and simple proteins. I need a few different kinds of jerky, too, but that’s just me.
If you have a small place, you can get creative with your storage options, too.
And don’t forget to rotate your supply. You can stockpile all you want, but if it never leaves the back of your cabinet and goes bad, that’s not helpful.
I’m big on the first in, first out system. It’s as simple as it sounds. Use your older items first and rotate the new stuff to the back. And make yourself a note to replace what you eat.
So, Should You Be Worried?
Well, you definitely want to be cautious and assess every food shortage situation as it comes. But I wouldn’t be worried. Most of these situations are going to fall squarely in the “life happens” department.
There will be temporary gaps in certain food items from time to time. With flexibility we can deal with it. Higher prices are going to come and go with inflation. It hurts the wallet for sure, but we buckle down.
Prepare gradually. Have your pantry stocked. Can your own food, it’s easier than you may think. You’ll get through.
But the idea of sudden, total collapse of the food system? I wouldn’t spend too much time agonizing over that one.
Pay Attention Without Overreacting
Stay informed, but don’t believe everything you hear from the rumor mill. You want to look for the same food shortage story being reported in multiple, credible places. Watch for trends over time, too.
I don’t pay much attention to viral posts and dramatic claims on social media. The amount of hoaxes there seems to be increasing by the day. “Oh my god, did you see ‘insert celebrity name here’ died!” And turns out they’re just fine.
Stay focused in the here and now. Have a solid food supply built up and stay flexible. There’s a mad cow disease outbreak? Eat more chicken, pork and deer, if you have it.
Food shortage predictions will always be part of our lives, one way or another. Some will definitely make you glad that you were ready for it ahead of time. Some will just blow over or never even really make an impact at all.
Anthony Vion is a lifelong prepper from Long Island, NY, with decades of hands-on experience in emergency planning. He focuses on practical, approachable strategies for managing food supplies, power, water and other essentials and helping households stay safe and resilient during everyday disruptions.
This article is intended for educational and informational purposes only. Readers are encouraged to seek instruction from qualified professionals and to take responsibility for their own decisions.
