What Empty Shelves Really Mean

What you don't see when you tour The Store: the staff member who feels personally responsible when the pinto beans don't come in.

This morning, one of our staff was down about pinto beans.

Not for herself. For our neighbors.

We've been having a harder time keeping the items we're known for: whole grain cereals, pinto beans, hearty soups. The supply chain pressures other grocers are feeling (tariffs on cans, farm labor shortages, climate-stressed harvests) reach us too. We just feel them in a particular way.

She doesn't like letting customers down. She knows what those staples mean to the neighbors who count on them.

I keep turning that over. The food on our shelves carries the dignity of choice. When a neighbor walks in for the things she's relied on and the slot is empty, that's a small wound. To her, and to the staff member who knows it.

This is what it's like at The Store right now. We hold the line on quality. Some days the line holds. Some days the truck doesn't come.

AND, if you and your team have been looking for a real way to plug in, we'd be delighted to receive a pinto bean drive. (Hearty soups and whole grain cereal also very welcome.) To host an item drive for the store, email us at itemdrive@thestore.org.