Is a Brunswick, Maine Grocery Store Hinting to Another Food Shortage?

Ever since the pandemic began, there's been random shortages of so many different products. It all started with toilet paper and graduated to things like cream cheese, baby formula, and meat products.

Over time, though, it felt like the shortages slowed down or even fully went away. But within the last couple of weeks, it seems like they could be slowly creeping back up on us.

Bacon Shortage

Last Friday, a Portland restaurant mentioned they ran out of bacon during the lunch rush. Interestingly enough, though, that's not the shortage that a grocery store possibly hinted to.

Because even though back in July, SF Gate reported that there was an impending bacon shortage in California, there hasn't really been any news about a bacon shortage in or around Maine at all.

Iceberg Lettuce Shortage

Maybe you've heard something about a shortage of iceberg lettuce, but maybe you haven't. Or maybe you've heard about it over the last few weeks (since when you Google "iceberg lettuce shortage" there are stories that pop up) but haven't felt directly affected.

For weeks and months, there has been no indication of any iceberg lettuce shortage specifically at the Shaw's in Brunswick, Maine; however, that story changed at some point in the last week, as the following note was posted in the checkout aisle on Monday night, December 5.

It may be tough to see due to the angle (it's tough to sneak a picture of a sign with a checkout clerk and bagger right in front of you and not seem like a total picture-taking creep), but above the large note that the Brunswick Shaw's is hiring, the smaller note reads:

Due to the limited availability of Iceberg Lettuce, we are limiting purchases to 2. We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers.

Whether or not it's a store-specific issue with limited availability or not, a food shortage of any kind around whatever holiday you celebrate always reeks of annoying, so prep for a battle when shopping for those holiday dishes this season.