By Eddie Catano, Malone Graham, Freddie Humes, Branson Nash and Toluwani Osibamowo
Empty grab-and-go meal shelves at Market Street on 4425 19th St. Photo by Branson Nash.
COVID-19 impacts continue to place strain on the supply and demand chain, leaving South Plains grocery shoppers with few food options.
Kora Rush, director of supply chain for United Supermarkets, said the pandemic hindered the process of getting products onto grocery shelves.
At the United Supermarkets distribution center located in Lubbock, Rush works long hours to ensure consumers and local stores are supplied with necessary groceries. Rush said the distribution center works with 1,500 suppliers who are at the forefront of the supply chain.
“In every step of that way there’s a person involved, who was then sick, quarantined, afraid to come to work, having to stay home because their kids are no longer in school,” Rush said. “So, when people and products are in short supply, the supply chain breaks.”
The supply chain suffered disruptions after COVID-19 lockdown restrictions were established.
“Supply and demand is out of balance, it really works well when the supply and the demand are equal, Rush said. “But when demand is greater than supply, the guests will pay just about any price.”
According to a Jan. 2022 report from a United Nations conference on Trade and Development, supply chain problems at the local level are impacting the global trade network and affecting trading clauses between governing nations.
“Now we’re waiting,” Rush said. “And we’re waiting for this product overseas.”
Rush said the worldwide shortage is being felt all across the South Plains.
Supply Chain Competition
Boxes of items fill shelves at the United Supermarkets distribution center on 5801 M.L.K. Jr. Blvd. Photo by Freddie Humes.
When the pandemic lockdowns were at their peak in 2020, essential businesses such as grocery stores did not have to compete with restaurants, bars and school cafeterias for product.
But as establishments began to reopen, Rush said this created a supply competition between grocery stores and eateries.
“You have restaurants and bars that shut down that pushed all that business into the grocery chain, but then they started reopening again,” Rush said. “Well, that puts pressure on the suppliers to reposition those restaurants to do business, so now your demand is just escalating and escalating.”
Now, as businesses reopen, stores face the issue of panic buying.
“Your mom, she maybe doesn’t need diced tomatoes today, but there it is,” Rush said. “So, she’s gonna buy it, and she might buy more than one because she’s been out for a while.”
According to a study conducted by Richard P. Bentall, a psychologist at the University of Sheffield, panic buying and supply shortages are common attributes of pandemics, wars, and natural disasters. The study states the Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends every house reserves 14 days’ worth of non-perishable food items in the case of an emergency.
Food Services
Food service and retail workers reflect on the residual problems in their workplace left behind by an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Alexis Wilson, a senior communications and accounting major, said she has been working at The Market at Texas Tech for two years, serving in her current role as a temporary cook for the past six months.
Wilson, who had been working in the food industry in some capacity before the COVID-19 pandemic, describes her experience as a grocery store employee amidst the aftermath of the pandemic lockdown.
“We had to shut down everything,” Wilson said. “I was out of the job for a couple months, but they still paid us. When we came back, I wouldn’t say it was difficult, it was definitely different but like I don’t know how to explain that.”
Screenshot of an alert from the Chick-fil-A app notifying customers of global supply chain challenges. Screenshot photo taken by Freddie Humes.
Wilson said chicken is the primary food that is difficult to keep in stock for customers with a preference of boneless chicken wings. Despite the available alternatives such as chicken tenders or chicken nuggets provided for customers, Wilson said it is difficult communicating the shortages of such items with students.
“Even though we tell them we run out of stuff, they still don’t listen to us,” Wilson said. “It gets frustrating because they try to have attitudes with us. We try to tell them this is out of our control.”
In the face of these challenges, Wilson believes she and her team are now more equipped to combat difficulties within their job after handling these shortages throughout the pandemic.
“If there was a shutdown that happened now, we would be more prepared,” Wilson said. “Last year, we were not prepared, but I feel more prepared if something were to happen now.”
Scarlett Bloodworth, a graduate student at Texas Tech, said she has witnessed the food shortages and its affects on grocery stores.
“I think it’s a really complex issue,” Bloodworth said. “There’s people that are willing to work but don’t have a place to work, there’s people that aren’t willing to work, and there’s work to be done, depending on what part of the country you’re in.”
Bloodworth said she attributes the ongoing supply chain disruptions to both the pandemic, and difficulties with finding people to stock the shelves.
“Cooperation is key to solving the supply chain issues,” Bloodworth said. “Employers must provide the work, and employees must fill those roles.”
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