Planning
What is with the weather this year? I hope you haven’t been hit too hard but what I am seeing in the news is alarming. I have been fortunate to not experience a flood or power outage but neighboring towns just a few miles away have not been as lucky. We have had unprecedented flooding and storm damage.
With that in mind, I want to point out a few other factors that are mixing in with the potential to make a perfect storm for all of us in the coming months.
Have you noticed the shelves in just about every store? Do you see pockets of empty space? The supply chain has been affected by a lack of truck drivers but the shortage is also due to a lack of production workers. At my daughter’s college, the variety of food available has dropped significantly - they aren’t out of food but there are definitely things missing from the buffets.
We went to Friendly’s not long ago and they had no fish so they couldn’t offer a few of their menu items. I went to Yankee Candle’s big headquarters just last week and while the shelves were stocked, they only offered their big candles. The medium and small candles were nowhere to be found - is this due to a need to streamline production due to a shortage of workers and supplies? I didn’t get to ask anyone but I am betting this is the case.
So, we are seeing a limit already placed on our supply chain. Now let’s look at what future forecasters are saying about the price of gas. In my area, they are predicting it will hit $5 per gallon. The last time prices spiked like this, people limited how much they drove their car and prices of groceries started to rise.
This could mean that people will have a continued reason to not go back to work and prices will be on the rise across the board.
Mix supply chain limitations with higher prices and potential weather-related emergencies and you now have the perfect storm brewing for chaos in the grocery stores.
As planners, there are a few things we can do to prevent this potential storm from affecting our lives - listen in to the podcast to get some preparedness tips and find out what I am personally doing to avoid the chaos.
After I wrote this article and released the podcast episode, my town sent out a boil water notice due to a water main break. This real-life scenario helped me refine my plans and put them into action. I also got clarity on what foods to buy using a meal matrix. I share these tips in the follow-up episode found here.
As mentioned in the episode, this is the water jug I purchased to be able to store tap water in a safe and easy way. (This is an Amazon affiliate link which means if you purchase this jug, I make a minuscule commission which in no way affects the price you pay.)