The backlog in production stems from shortages in supply chains from power outages, shortages of employees to take up truck driver and service worker positions, and Covid-19 infections and restrictions. More people are making the decision to eat at home, rather than go out for a meal, contributing to further increased shortages.
Unfortunately, many brands couldn’t keep up and frozen foods took a particularly hard hit and are disappearing from grocery shelves. 2020 saw a wide variety of food companies restructure and consolidate their brands, wiping away their products that just couldn’t sell.
The frozen food department of an Iowa grocery store. The coronavirus outbreak has forced more households to prepare their own meals instead of eating out, and the consumption of frozen meals is on the rise. A new report from the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) reveals that 70% of Americans are buying more frozen food since March.
For many, frozen meals have turned into comfort food. According to the AFFI survey, 90% of Americans are now eating more meals at home compared to the data from before the coronavirus outbreak started. Since March, 86% of consumers in the United States purchased frozen food.
Why is Lean Cuisine not making frozen meals?
Like many other frozen dinners, Lean Cuisine couldn’t sustain the production of its wide variety of pre-made meals due to supply chain shortages. Many of the brand’s unhealthiest or worst-selling products had to get cut from production, including the Tuscan Style Vegetable Lasagna.
When workers had to move off the job due to coronavirus restrictions, the seafood industry took a hit due to the decreased workforce. With a smaller amount of fresh catches coming in, brands had to consolidate their lines, eliminating products that just didn’t sell as well as they could.
One of the most high-profile groceries that couldn’t survive the year came in the form of Eskimo Pies. Due to their insensitive name, public outcry led to their pull from shelves and caused parent company Edy’s to completely reimagine the dessert before re-introducing them to stores in a wholly-new form.
Halo Top makes some of the most decadent dairy-free and health-conscious ice cream any of us could desire, but sadly, flavors that we have come to love couldn’t survive 2020—Halo Top recently announced the discontinuation of its classic Pumpkin Pie flavor, alongside a wide variety of other classics. With the selection of dairy-free ice creams dwindling, many of us can only hope our other favorites remain safe. If you still have an ice cream craving, here’s How to Make Homemade Ice Cream (Without a Machine!).
Their classic Herb Roasted Chicken Dinner was officially declared discontinued on their Facebook page, leaving many fans heartbroken.
Healthy Choice produced some of the best frozen food over the course of the brand’s lifetime. Their Pesto and Egg White Scramble ranked as one of the healthiest options in the freezer section, but overwhelming pressure from food shortages caused the brand to rethink their entire line of goods. Like many other companies, Healthy Choice made the decision to cull a good selection of its product, including this fan-favorite that disappeared well before its time.
Unfortunately, many brands couldn’t keep up and frozen foods took a particularly hard hit and are disappearing from grocery shelves. 2020 saw a wide variety of food companies restructure and consolidate their brands, wiping away their products that just couldn’t sell. Whether the item had to get pulled due to lack of consumer interest, …
How to prepare for food shortages?
When it comes to food shortages, the best way to be prepared is to have your own supply. As preppers, we have to be self-reliant. This means that we know how to grow and harvest our own food for survival. If you haven’t started a garden, now is the perfect time to do it.
Dehydrated food is great, but freeze-dried food has a longer shelf-life. One can a month works great. Just do it, you have a 3-month supply in no time. Then move onto a 6-month, and then a 12-month supply. Check out my post How to Prepare for a Food Shortage for more helpful information.
If you are new and not prepared, start stocking up on non-perishable items such as canned goods, rice, beans, canned meats, canned soups, canned tomatoes, spices, pasta, and other items your family will eat. Then slowly stock up on long-term food.
But, if you aren’t out there restocking, your food supply will soon run out, and you will have your own food shortage. Here are some things you can do:
Meat Processing Plants were Closed. When dealing with raw meat, you have to be very very careful. Due to people testing positive for COVID19, many meat processing and packing plants closed for a period of time. There are plenty of hogs, chickens, and cows, but they all have to go through processing and packing plants.
The year 2020 has been a year to remember for sure. From a global pandemic to looting, riots, and killer bees. But, the next thing we have to worry about is food shortage. The national lockdowns and social distancing measures have dried up work and incomes and disrupted agricultural production as well as supply routes. This means millions of people are worrying about how they will get enough to eat when the shelves dry up too.
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