My Personal "Boots on the Ground" Report For September 1

By Tim Gamble 

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Here is my personal boots on the ground report of what I am seeing and experiencing in my area (small town in western North Carolina) over the last few weeks. Please feel free to leave your own reports in the new comments section (now unmoderated) of this website. (Hat tip to SouthernPrepper1 for the concept.)

The Bad News At The Stores

Although it is nothing like what happened in 2020, there are again noticeable gaps on the store shelves in this area, worse than its been in at least a year. It is the usual suspects: canned meats & fish, mac-and-cheese & other meal-in-a-box foods, certain snack foods, OTC medications, vitamins & supplements, and some cleaning supplies. The shelves of fresh meats and frozen foods are also noticeably thinner. Olive oil is non-existent in this area, except for a few bottles of the most expensive brands. 

The Good News At The Stores

Eggs remain in the $1.78 - $1.98 range for store-brand white eggs, much cheaper than they were earlier this year. The price of Member's Mark canned chicken at Sam's Club is now  $12.84 for a six-pack, down considerably from a peak of $18.98 earlier this year. Despite rumors of a rice shortage, all stores in my area have plenty of rice on the shelves, in various sizes of both the name-brands and store-brands. If there is a rice shortage, it hasn't shown up here yet. 

The Weather

Despite all the talk in the media of climate change and an extremely hot summer, this isn't what we are experiencing in my area. In fact, this has been a noticeably mild summer. For example, we normally have 4 or 5 days of 100-degree every summer, usually around late July or early August, yet this year we haven't had any. In fact, our hottest day so far has been 97 degrees (which we've hit twice). 

Restaurant Closings

Two local restaurants have closed in recent weeks. I don't know the owners, so I don't know the why of the situation. However, each represents a least a dozen or more people who have lost their jobs. 

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