A series of winter storms and widespread power outages gripping Texas and other states not accustomed to such extremely low temperatures are creating major challenges in the country’s food supply networks.
Grocery chains such as Walmart and Publix have been forced to close some stores due to lack of power or lack of workers. And in places that stay open, customers complain about long queues outside and then empty shelves that are only full of water, bread and milk when they enter. The grocery chain HEB in Texas, for example, has closed some stores and restricted customer purchases of items such as breast and propane tanks.
The power outages caught many people unprepared, such as Jon Reilly, who says he always has a month’s supply of canned food on hand for hurricanes. But on Wednesday, his daughter and wife waited 20 minutes in a queue outside a grocery store in Corpus Christi, Texas, only to come out with bread and water. They found no milk, cheese or meat. He also has little propane, which he uses to turn on the outside grill to cook.
“We thought it was going to be cold,” Reilly said. “We did not expect to have no power for a week.”
Rodney Giles, 35, of Woodlands, Texas, went out Tuesday to get steak to fry for his family. But in the end, outside his local HEB, he waited in line for two hours. When he entered, the only available tofu, oatmeal and other things he did not want. But after living through several hurricanes and the pandemic, he hopes the store’s inventory will improve soon.
“Even during the pandemic here in March, the shelves were empty, but the next day it was full of stock,” Giles said.
Grocery stores in Texas and other parts of the South are accustomed to hurricanes that can force them to shut down for a few days. But this week’s massive winter storms are wider, and they have wreaked havoc on roads and the entire transport infrastructure. The coronavirus pandemic exacerbates the problem simply because stores need to limit the number of customers.
Michael Zimmerman, a partner in the strategic operating practice of the global management consulting firm Kearney, predicts it will take another two weeks before groceries in the affected areas return to normal. He noted that grocery chains operate a very efficient operation, which is in stock they need and relies on continuous deliveries. But it can catch fire again in situations like snowstorms and power outages if it helps to have extra supplies.
“Supermarkets just don’t have room, even if they can store garlic for three years,” he said.
Meanwhile, food suppliers have to reduce their operations or close farms and plants due to the disruptions. Texas Secretary of Agriculture Sid Miller issued a red alert earlier this week, noting that he was receiving calls from farmers and farmers across the country, reporting that the disruptions in electricity and natural gas were having a “devastating effect on their operations.” “
In just one example, dairy industries pour $ 8 million into the drains every day because the plants that process milk do not have power, Miller said in his statement.
“We’re looking at a food supply chain problem like we’ve never seen before, not even with COVID-19,” he said.
Tyson Foods says it has temporarily scaled down or suspended production at some facilities to save energy costs.
Sanderson Farms Inc., one of the largest U.S. chicken companies, estimated on Tuesday that up to 200 of its approximately 1,900 Texas chicken houses do not have power. But Mississippi’s chairman and CEO, Joe F. Sanderson Jr., remained optimistic.
“This experience is similar to a hurricane,” he said. Sanderson, Jr., in a statement. “We have experience driving through catastrophic weather conditions, and it will be no different.”
The supply problems have spread to food banks, hampering their ability to feed the needy. Celia Cole, CEO of the hunger relief organization Feeding Texas, said most of the 21 food banks the organization operates across the state have been closed due to the weather, power issues or people unable to get to work. But several provided food to heating stations in more urban areas of the state.
“I do not think there is one community that has not been touched yet,” she said. “The biggest challenge we can help people with is the disruption in the supply chain.”
Amid the chaos, however, there are a few bright spots, such as for Bruna Villalon, 24, who lives with her husband and three dogs in Austin, Texas. She went to Walmart on Monday to pick up necessities when the power went out.
“The store manager had to ask each shopper how much they thought groceries were, and if we didn’t have cash, we could just leave with the groceries,” said Villalon, who paid $ 20 in cash for about $ 35 worth of groceries.
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D’Innocenzio and Anderson are based in New York. AP business writer Dee-Ann Durbin in Ann Arbor, Michigan, contributed to this report.