Small improvement this week !
This week our supermarket had fewer empty shelves, compared with last week. The products that were available were often spread really wide in rows that are only one item deep.
The change from last week was small -- could be just a random week to week variation. My overall rating is based on my impression of the product supply in the ENTIRE store. Not just the specific items we wanted to buy, more of which were out of stock today than ever before!
We normally shop at 6am Sunday morning when the store opens for business, at the huge Meijer's supermarket in Southfield, Michigan. Previous experiments with shopping on Friday, Saturday and Monday mornings revealed no differences when compared with Sunday mornings.
Ye Editor
Paper towels and toilet paper
The biggest display of paper towels and toilet paper rolls you could ever imagine again -- enough for an army -- mainly to fill up otherwise empty shelves and end caps.
Cream Cheese
There were 82 eight ounce tubs of Philadelphia soft cream cheese, where there are usually about 200+. Prior weeks were 84, 81, 111, 105, 93, 38, 78, 73, 104, 58 and 67.
There were 19 Meijer's brand eight ounce tubs, where there are normally 50+. Prior weeks were 18, 9, 25, 3, 1 and 12.
There were 45 eight ounce bricks of Philadelphia cream cheese, where there are usually about 100+. Prior weeks were 2, 23, 0, 1, 0, 0, 100, 100, 47, 12 and 0.
There were 2 Meijer's brand bricks where there are usually about 100+, after 77 last week, and none for four weeks in a row before last week.
Instant Coffee (product wanted not available)
This week no taster's Choice bottles, as usual, but there were finally 8 boxes of Taster's Choice individual packets, instead of none. Not the flavor the wife wanted, and very expensive -- $3.99 for only 1.9 ounces total. There were plenty of Folger's, some Nescafe, and one lonely bottle of Maxwell House. The wife tried Nescafe for the first time, after many months without Taster's Choice.
- Last week no Taster's Choice, 8 Folger's decaf and 6 Folgers regular.
- Prior week no Taster's Choice, yet again, for months, 22 Folgers decaf, 1 Folgers regular and 1 Nescafe decaf.
- Prior week no Taster's Choice, 8 Nescafe decaf, 6 Folgers decaf, and 3 Folgers regular.
- Prior week one Taster's Choice -- a miracle -- after six weeks of none available. It was $9.49, compared with only $6.99 the last time Taster's Choice was available.
Puzzling that almost all the non-instant coffees remain fully stocked.
Snapple Tea Large Bottles
This week 10 Raspberry with sugar, 9 diet iced tea - lemonade, 5 Peach with sugar and 4 Diet Peach with sugar Six prior weeks
4 Peach tea with sugar and one Raspberry tea with sugar. No Diet Peach.
4 Diet Peach tea, 1 Raspberry tea with sugar and 1 diet iced tea - lemonade mix
6 Raspberry tea with sugar and 6 diet iced tea-lemonade mix.
3 Diet Peach tea, 3 Peach tea with sugar and 2 Raspberry tea with sugar.
1 Diet Peach tea, 5 Raspberry tea with sugar, and 10 Peach tea with sugar.
16 Diet Peach tea.
Diet Soda Pop (one product wanted not available)
Two liters bottles of 3 of the 3 flavors of diet cherry cola pop that I drink were well stocked, compared with 2 last week. The soda row was only 3/4 full for the second week in a row, after being well stocked the prior week.
Breakfast Cereals
This week's raisin bran: 5 Kellog's, 2 Meijer's and lots of Post brand. Last week there was a small supply of Kellog's raisin bran. no Post raisin bran and 2 Meijer's raisin bran boxes. Meijer's is our first choice -- it had had been out of stock for months.
Pickles (product wanted not available)
Way in the back of what appeared to be an empty shelf were four 24 ounce bottles of Meijer's bread and butter pickles. The sign said $1.89. They charged me $2,09 at the register. i didn't argue, beacise the 16 ounce size was priced at $2.19. No 24 ounce size available last week. I bought all four today -- enogh for a month.
Th prior four weeks in a row had been fully stocked with Meijers and Vlasic pickles. There had been zero Meijers' brand for five weeks in a row before that.
For the sixth week in a row, the better tasting Meijer's Kosher low sugar bread and butter pickles that I wanted to buy, in a refrigerated case, were not available. The two spicy flavors of Meijer's kosher pickles were available. Both too spicy for me.
Yogurt
Fully stocked for six weeks in a row. This department had been a disaster in 1Q 2022. And then a miracle in 2Q 2022.
Planter's Dry Roasted Salted Peanuts (product wanted not available)
This week there were 6 34.5 ounce size and no 16 ounce
34.5 ounce size in prior weeks: 6, 1 and zero
16 ounce size in prior weeks: 0, 2 and 2
Meijer's brand 16 ounce bottles are always available, but they are only 5% less expensive than Planters, and don't taste very good.
The Planter's honey roasted peanuts I tried last week are very good .I wanted the 34.5 ounce size today, but there were none. Fortunately the 16 ounce size was on sale. There were four and I bought two
Jif Smooth Peanut Butter (product wanted not available)
All Jif peanut butter was gone due to a recall (for the second week in a row). There was one jar of regular Skippy, and some very expensive Skippy with no sugar added. Lots of Meijer's brand -- cheaper, and I bought one, but not as good as Jif. We have three large unopened Jif bottles at home that were recalled and have to be returned. I took advantage of a sale a few weeks ago, and got burned.
Packaged deli meats (product wanted not available)
Fully stocked with ham and turkey (for several weeks in a row). But only one brand of salami, and not the brand I wanted to buy, compared with one brand of salami last week, two brands the week before that, versus four brands normally.
ACE bread from Canada (product wanted not available)
No Harvest Grain flavor loaves available.
Past 2 weeks: 6 and 0
Good move to buy 3 loaves last week and freeze two.
Dense non-sliced bread holds up well in the freezer.
Ice Cream (product wanted not available)
About 3/4 stocked, compared with 7/8 3/4, 2/3, 7/8, 3/4, 7/8 and 1/2 stocked in the prior weeks.
No Breyer's no sugar added ice cream available, compared with 8, 6, 4, 0, 6, 0, 12 and 0 in the prior weeks. No other brand of no sugar added ice cream available.
In prior weeks I wrote "sugar free" -- that's not correct because the skim milk has some sugar in it. The store added Breyer's Carb Smart in chocolate and chocolate mint. The chocolate has no sugar added. but the chocolate mint has 1/2 teaspoon sugar added per 2/3 cup. They are both made of skim milk like their Breyer's no sugar added ice cream. I don't know why the Carn Smart chocolate is not called no sugar added.
Lindt chocolate bars (product wanted not available)
This week 4 of 12 flavors were stocked, compared with 0, 0, 3, 2, 3 and 2 of 12, in prior weeks. There had been completely empty shelves for one month before that.
A poor selection of other brands of chocolate bars for the second week in a row, after a good selection for the past three weeks.
Candy and gum
The candy section was 7/8 full this week (my guess -- there were a lot on unopened boxes on the floor not yet shelved), compared with 2/3, 3/4. 7/8, 7/8, 3/4 and 1/2 full in prior weeks. Candy impulse purchase shelves at the checkout line were nearly full, compared with 2/3. 7/8, 3/4, 2/3 and 2/3 full in prior weeks.
Cole Slaw Mix: (product wanted not available)
No cole slaw mix of any brand for me to add my special no augar-added sauce. Pre-made cole slaw has way too much sugar in it, IMHO. Last week there was one very expensive small bag of "organic" cole slaw that looked dry and had too much purple cabbage it, which is too bitter. The prior week had 6 Dole Classic Mix available -- I bought them all -- after finding none for two weeks before that.
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