Walt Frank
ALTOONA Pet owners are dealing with a cat food shortage. Many stores are having issues stocking canned cat food, and the problem appears to be connected to COVID-19.
According to Packaged Facts, a source for pet products and services market research, some 3.3 million new pets and counting have been welcomed into U.S. households since the start of the pandemic.
“The pet category has experienced increased consumer demand. Due to overall COVID-related disruption to the production of goods, it’s possible pet parents may not find a specific item or flavor of wet food for cats on the shelf on a given day. However, Petco locations carry a vast nationwide assortment of wet food for cats and have plenty of options readily available,” Petco spokesperson Ventura Olvera said.
Cat owners may find some bare shelves in the pet food aisles at local grocery stores.
Wegmans stores are experiencing a cat food shortage as a result of weather challenges over the last few weeks especially in Pennsylvania, Wegmans spokeswoman Laura Camera said.
Manufacturers arenât able to produce and distribute as many cases, creating shortages across the industry, she said.
âWe are working with our suppliers to secure as much product as possible and hope to get more product back on the shelves soon,â Camera said.
Gerrityâs stores in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties also have been short supplies of canned cat food in certain brands like Fancy Feast, Friskies and 9 Lives, co-owner Joe Fasula said.
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Eating more seafood these days? You’re not alone as sales spike during pandemic
Updated Feb 13, 2021;
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Never mind, toilet paper and Clorox wipes.
Nearly a year into the coronavirus pandemic, another item is flying off supermarket shelves - seafood. In the past year, grocery retailers have noticed an uptick in sales of seafood as fewer people dine out at restaurants.
Bloomberg recently reported sales of frozen seafood at U.S. supermarkets and other food retailers grew by 26% in the four weeks ending Dec. 27 compared to a year earlier, according to market research company IRI. Meanwhile, fresh seafood sales climbed 25%.
Pizza Bella typically sells about 1,200 pounds of chicken wings for Super Bowl Sunday, he said.
He expects it will be very busy for takeout and delivery when the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers play Sunday in Super Bowl LV.
âWe will have every single worker here,â Lozano said. âWe usually ask people to order ahead to get their food but we canât guarantee a time. We always give a 15-minute window. We try to get everything out as best as we can.â
Nationwide, consumers are expected to devour a record 1.42 billion wings during Super Bowl weekend, according to the National Chicken Councilâs annual wing report. The figure is up 2% from last yearâs report.