Dealing with local shortages

[Mike Nolan]

Semolina is currently in short supply locally and when I can find it the price is about $2.60 a pound, so I ordered a 50 pound bag of it from Webstaurant for under $56 including shipping.

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[Italiancook]

Thanks for letting us know about your semolina shortage. I better check on it here, since I use it.

[Italiancook]

USA Today & Fox News are reporting there's a pepperoni shortage. It's impacting small pizzerias the most. Large ones have longer term contracts for the supply. Prices of it have gone up. I don't use this ingredient on homemade pizzas and rarely have it on a purchased one. If you use it for homemade pizza, have you noticed a price increase at the store?

[BakerAunt]

It is not a local shortage, but I have been waiting for Bob's Red Mill to have their milk powder in stock again. So far, it has not happened, so I am rationing my last bag and only using it for yogurt and cheese crackers.

I heard that after the "milk glut," there is now a milk shortage. I've noticed that prices in my area have increased, even at CVS, which usually has excellent prices and deals on milk.

[BakerAunt]

I checked the BRM site and was able to register for an email notification for when the milk powder is back in stock. The estimated date is Sept. 1.

I checked semolina, and right now BRM only has bulk (25 lb.) bags available. I was fortunate to find two of their small bags (older packaging) early in the pandemic and stuck them in the refrigerator and freezer. I also had bought a bag of the KAF semolina.

[Mike Nolan]

I've got plenty of semolina now, 50 pounds of it. Some of it will go in the freezer.

Grocery prices have been going up since March, but the way they compute inflation most grocery price increases don't show up in the national inflation numbers.

[Italiancook]

In addition to KABC and BRM no having packages of semolina I can handle, the grocery store didn't have any yesterday. My husband looked for it in the flour aisle. Would it more likely have been in the international aisle?

[Mike Nolan]

Canning jars and lids are in short supply, more so than usual for this time of year.

It will vary, wherever they put most of the BRM flours is where you'll likely find the semolina, at Hy-Vee it is in their health/organic aisle, at Super-Saver it is next to the other flours.

[BakerAunt]

I wonder if the shortage of canning lids and jars is due to more people canning, or if it is a production problem. I have a good supply of jars, and I bought more lids last year--anticipating a peach crop that did not happen--so I am not affected.

Placement of semolina: Kroger had the BRM flour in an "organic/health food" section when I first began shopping there three years ago, but about eighteen months ago, they moved the BRM flour to the baking aisle with the other flours, and the oats to the cereal aisle. If there are health food stores in your neighborhood, Italian Cook, you might try there. You could also email BRM and ask when they might have small packages in stock again.

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