Posted on 04/01/2021 9:26:57 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
Want to know how the US economy is doing?
Forget fancy indicators like the GDP, industrial production and home sales.
If you really want to know how consumers feel about our financial situation, just look at mason jar sales.
It's true. Throughout history, when people grew worried about their own self-preservation, they eased their fears with food preservation. In wartime, Americans gardened and canned to not only proclaim their patriotism but to ease food rationing. The Energy Crisis of the '70s led to the "Great Canning Lid Shortage of 1975." And in 2020 - a year wracked by COVID-19 fears, political strife, product shortages and economic uncertainty - neophytes have started gardening and canning with a fervor that would do Ma Ingalls proud.
"I call it 'Sourdough 2.0' -- it was the next craze of what people are doing in the kitchen because they have extra time," says Marie Bregg, who says sales on her online store, Mason Jar Merchant, are up "1,000 times" what they were in previous years.
This utter can-demonium has translated into canning-supply shortages, which started last spring but have persevered. No. 1 on the Home Canner's most-wanted list: canning lids. While mason jars and lid rings can be used repeatedly, the flat metal lids with the rubber ring are engineered to seal one time only. After that, there's no guarantee they'll still work, which could mean quarts of spoiled food or, worse, food poisoning.
As a result, brand-new Ball and Kerr lids - viewed as the gold standard - have become as hot of a commodity as toilet paper was last spring.
The Forum checked numerous big-box and grocery stores throughout Fargo-Moorhead, only to find no lids were available. Online, Walmart featured lids from a third-party seller, but the price had shoppers flipping their lids: $17.98 for a 12-pack of lids and rings. (Normally, a 12-pack would cost $3 or $4.)
"It's outrageous," said Carol Kronbeck, a lifelong home-canner.
Kronbeck estimates she cans 90 jars of pickles, salsa, jelly, spaghetti sauce and tomatoes every fall after husband, Jack, a retired farmer, brings her the bounty of their large garden near Hawley, Minn. "You could hardly find lids all summer because so many had started gardening who had never canned before. I'm just glad I got all my pickles done," Kronbeck says. "I ended up having to freeze everything, even tomatoes and green beans."
Sue B. Balcom, who manages the Bismarck Farmer's Market, sells her canned goods through her Root Sellers business and is the guest contributor to "Main Street Eats," on Prairie Public Radio, says she ran out of inventory sooner than usual last fall because she couldn't find more lids and jars.
"It's irritating, to say the least," she says. "The shelves were wiped clean. It had slowed down by the end of September to a point where I was scrounging for jars. I told people, when it's gone, it's gone."
An up side to the "can-demic" is that Balcom says her sales are 50% higher in the past year than in previous years. Even so, she's frustrated by hoarders who are snatching up all the canning supplies simply so they can sell them at inflated prices. "If you're hoarding lids, stop it," she says.
Why is this happening?
Small groceries in rural areas are also experiencing a shortage. Donna Scholl, grocery manager of Valley General Store in Halstad, Minn., says jars and lids have both been in short supply since May of last year, and lids are still a no-show. For a while in the summer, the store did receive packs of jars with rings and lids. People seemed to buy them, even if they already had jars, just so they could get new lids.
The demand grew especially brisk in the fall, when people from as far as 40 miles away were calling the store to look for lids. Last week, Scholl was checking with her warehouse, but there wasn't a canning lid in sight. "Not even an off brand," she says. "There wasn't even an estimated delivery time."
Scholl says she believes the shortage stems from workforce shortages and factory shut-downs related to the pandemic. Many manufacturers have switched their production emphasis to focus on their best-selling items, but it hasn't yet bumped up availability of canning supplies.
Bregg thinks the shortage is the result of “a perfect storm” of conditions: COVID-weary folks turning to home-gardening and canning to alleviate grocery bills and fears of future food shortages; Pinterest-surfing millennials who find they now have time to try homespun pursuits like canning salsa, and pandemic-related slow-downs at every level of the supply chain.
Newell Brands, the maker of Ball as well as popular mason jar brand Kerr, produces the largest quantity of mason jars in the U.S. In early October, the publicly traded company told CNN this unprecedented demand has resulted in supply constraints, extended lead times and recently limited product availability at stores and online.
At the time, a spokesperson also told the news network it was "increasing glass production, finding new lid manufacturers, and expanding facilities in an effort to replenish stock." The official Ball site issued a statement about fraudulent sites, reminding people to buy only through authorized third-party retailers and that “appropriate legal action is being taken to have these sites removed.”
Bregg, who has been interviewed by several national news organizations on the shortage, says she doesn't have an answer on when the shortage will end. "Suppliers don’t see supply chain normalizing until maybe the end of this year. The supply chain got screwed up. They ordered more supplies last year than in 10 years' time. There's a lot of fulfillment to make up for just to reach the normal level. "
Bregg, who was born in America but lives in Vancouver, B.C., says she's been able to fill online orders for canning supplies by buying up Bernardin jars and lids. Bernardin is the Canadian equivalent to Ball and Kerr. "They are definitely more expensive than you would normally pay, but that's because we bought them at retail," she says.
Other options include ordering no-name brands off places like Amazon, which typically come from Chinese companies. However, standards vary greatly from factory to factory, so there's no guarantee of quality, Bregg says.
Another option is a lid that is truly reusable, such as the Tattler brand. Although they are more expensive than the one-time-use lid, "you can tell when a Tattler seals, let me tell you," says Sue Balcom. "It takes a lot of strength to break those seals."
I’ve been to three Thrift Shops in the past few weeks - jars, mainly quarts, many chipped and no lids or rings. :(
If they’re smart, they’re hoarding them for one of their massive ‘theme’ sales like they do with fabric or yarn or ‘vintage’ kitchen wares. (Those sales ARE fun to shop, actually!)
Lol- i am i n a fog (Brain fog) most of the time, and I’m lucky i caught the shipping fee-
I’ve sicne noticed a few other items on walmart are very expensive shipping fees too- I’m gonna have to really pay attention from now on when ordering-
Yep- labor of love really- we love garden veggies year round so the expense is an aside really- but dang if we’re gonna pay more for shipping than the product is worth lol
Ball, which also manufactures Kerr jars, are the Gold Standard for canning jars and ‘stuff,’ as it said in the article. They moved from CO back to MI, so I do stick with those American-Made brands. ;)
“Those of us that can sew, bake bread from scratch and grow vegetables are going to RULE this Brave New World! Mark my words! ;)”
And don’t forget, find creative substitutes for TP.
Dehydrating - great suggestion. I invested in a really nice dehydrator a few years ago. My BFFs daughter was getting married and asked for one as a Shower Gift. She had done thorough research, so I bought one for her and one for us.
Presto brand. It collapses for storage, and works great - The fan is a little loud, though, so I set it up in the Landry Room so I don’t have to listen to it all day and night.
https://www.farmandfleet.com/products/777040-presto-dehydro-digital-electric-food-dehydrator.html
I am really happy with the results. I like to dry tomatoes, then put them in EVOO with herbs and garlic. Keeps well in the fridge. Beau likes dehydrated cherry-type tomatoes and eats them like candy.
We experience about a 16% failure rate with Tattlers. Much higher than normal lids.
After reading this, I got on Amazon and ordered 48 regular size lids for $14.85
I buy American made canning lids, too. So I was pretty surprised when I checked the box in the WalMart product. I’ve used them and they work very well.
L
We haven’t had any luck when searching our local Tractor Supply. We will keep looking.
We used to have a local Feed and Seed. Sadly, a few years ago, the owner of the Feed and Seed suffered a fatal accident in the feed machine, or whatever the machine is called. The business closed shortly after.
Thanks for the tip. We will probably have to travel to a larger town to search.
When you realize you need to prepare it’s too late. I bought packs and packs of jars lids and rings a few years ago when the local store put them on clearance. I got lucky because I really never thought of using them for prepping. Just making pickles and kimchi exactly how I like it.
“Supply and Demand” are going to be like a rubber ball in zero gravity, in coming weeks, months and years, with Bidet & Hairass in charge.
Runnings is chock full of canning jars of all sizes.
No lids though, but the last couple years I stocked up on canning lids. I would buy four boxes of each, wide mouth and regular, every time I hit the store.
I am SO glad I did that.
For non canning uses, like storing dried herbs and other dried foods, I use spaghetti sauce jars. The gasket is built in and since it’s not necessary to process the jars, they are the perfect answer for saving the canning lids for actual canning.
I didn’t have that high of one.
Be careful about buying Ball lids on Amazon. I bought a bunch and they turned out to be made in China not the USA.
When canning lids are outlawed......only FReepers will have canning lids.
I get them locally at ACE Hardware, for a decent price, and they’re USA-made.
Did you tighten the rings after the food was processed while it was still hot and bubbling?
Yes.
I dehydrate herbs and have only done garlic slices for dried garlic, to save the crop. The bulbs were beginning to sprout and get discolored, so I saved what I could that way.
However, dehydrating garlic requires either a door to close off the kitchen or windows to open. The first day just burned our eyes out.
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