I heard something similar about last year's flour shortage.The problem was primarily due to a shortage of retail flour bags. Restaurants, cafeterias, and retail bakeries receive their supply of flour in different packaging, not the little 2.5 kg bags we see at the grocery store. I was always able to buy flour at a local bulk food store (mind you, they did the scooping, not the customers!). Same reason why thousands and thousands of eggs had to be destroyed at the beginning of the pandemic - no way to quickly pivot and distribute them to grocery stores in little cartons instead of to restaurants.

I've had a problem finding soy milk a couple of times, but I didn't think it was due to a shortage. If I don't find it, I get another type of milk or go without for the week. I prefer soy milk, but I like to alternate with other non-dairy milks, too. So, if there has been a shortage, it hasn't bothered me much.

I was in Walmart yesterday and found ZERO non-dairy milks. I even asked an employee. No soy, oat, almond, etc. It is very strange.

Walmart only keeps things that sell well in stock. Maybe that is part of the problem?

When we finally got a Trader Joe's here, I happened to chat with the manager to welcome them. I noticed fewer fresh items, fruit and veggies in stock. He said that the company's demographic studies for my area showed that the population to be more in to breads, sweets and alcohol. So they stock more of those items.

Oh, those demographics! DH and I joke that if WE like and buy a product, it's the kiss of death as it gets discontinued sooner rather than later. :p

We have noticed that one Kroger will carry items regularly that we buy, while another won't and we told by one of the managers who happened to be in the department that they buy based on sales at the store level.

Oh demographics! I tried to buy non-alcoholic beer at the grocery store this week and they've quit carrying it. I guess there are too many alcoholics in my area. :( And just as there has been a big craft beer explosion, there is a huge craft non-alcoholic beer renaissance, too. I went to a liquor store to buy some NA beer and the section is larger than I have ever seen it.

I was in Walmart waiting to go in the Vision Center when i had to kill some time. I walked down every aisle in the grocery section and finally found the soy milk. It was in the juice aisle, way down in a dark corner on a bottom shelf. The selection of alternative milks wasn't great, but they did have my favorite unsweetened Westsoy. I bought 8!

Today, we saw soy milk in our Trader Joe's. Maybe the "shortage" was just a fluke.