Shoppers feel pinch of empty shelves at grocery stores

While chronic supply chain shortages are to blame, the issue is being exacerbated by the fast-spreading Omicron variant and recent severe weather.

News 12 Staff

Jan 12, 2022, 10:37 PM

Updated 1,002 days ago

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Empty shelves are plaguing grocery stores across the Hudson Valley, and shoppers are feeling it.
While chronic supply chain shortages are to blame, the issue is being exacerbated by the fast-spreading Omicron variant and recent severe weather.
Jami Green was at Stew Leonard's in Yonkers Wednesday picking up items she couldn't find elsewhere.
Shelves there were stocked.
"We buy local with our farmers. They are really good with us, so they do a good job making sure we have enough product on our shelves," says Christian Cruz, vice president of Stew Leonard's in Yonkers.
But Cruz says Stew Leonard's in Yonkers is feeling the effects in the form of staffing shortages.
Six percent of workers ​companywide are out either sick with COVID-19 or quarantined.
The worker shortage is impacting what products are made in house. For example, the house-made pizzas are fully stocked but when you look closer you can see there is less variety.
"If there are some items you don't have to put out, like pineapple pizza, we don't worry about those items - we just don't make them," says Cruz.
Less variety helps ease the impacts of less workers.