Logistics: Are we headed for severe food shortages?

Sysco Corp. is among the largest, if not the largest, distributor in the country for the food service industry. The wholesale company distributes food products, kitchen equipment and supplies, such as napkins and cleaning detergents. They ARE the wholesale food supply chain.

From sources in food industry, “I work for a large institutional food service operation, 27,000 meals a day We’re having to begin contingency planning because SYSCO cannot guarantee product anymore Sysco supplies EVERYONE, this is probably the biggest news I’ve heard yet.”

It is absolutely as disruptive and concerning as it sounds. SYSCO is the largest supplier of food and related items to restaurants, schools, retailers, hotels, and hospitals on earth – basically Amazon-level clout. Sysco is who you call when other people run out or can’t keep up.

Not just wholesale, “The Army Commissary is supplied by DECA. At the Commissary today, day after they closed to restock, some sections especially produce were about 50%. There are other areas throughout the store that have similar scarcity’s, dairy, some meats other basic staples.”

The big chains have been quietly cutting back too, most don’t notice but if you pay attention you see it.

Small Mom & Pops are also getting hit, “I’ve been owned a mom and pop restaurant for 34 years, and I’ve never seen it like this. Random stuff is out of stock this week, back in stock next week. Some stuff has been unavailable for months. Carry out supplies are hit or miss. Prices are thru the roof.”

According to some mid-westerners, “I’ve got a friend in sales at US Foods. She said they are trying to control demand by constantly raising prices. If they can’t ensure supply, they’ll cut demand. She says they have a team that works with customers to advise on what they should raise their menu prices to.”