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Empty shelves linger: C.O. grocery stores still dealing with product shortages

'I would say, 'Go with the flow, customer'

BEND, Ore (KTVZ) -- COVID-19 has changed a lot of the sights, sounds and activities of everyday life, and has made one somewhat unnerving sight more common: Empty grocery store shelves.

"We used to have maybe 5% out of stock and be upset about it,” Newport Market COO Joe Anzaldo said Wednesday. “Now we have 30% out of stock, and it's like 'Okay, I guess that's the way that it is.'"

Anzaldo said covid-19 has forced manufacturers to shift resources from certain products into more essential ones.

That's leading to some products to being more difficult to find then others.

"They've definitely been out of strange things, like tortillas,” Bend resident Samantha Osborne said. “Or random things that you wouldn't think they'd be out of."

However, independent stores like Newport Avenue Market believe they are uniquely positioned to get creative to combat the shortages.

"We can get our groceries from anywhere,” Anzaldo said. “So as an example, the Syscos of the world and food service, they weren't delivering to the restaurants for a few months. So we called up Sysco and said bring us the product and we will repack it."

While there will be some empty shelves, at least for now, Anzaldo said you should still be able to find what you need.

"I would say, 'Go with the flow, customer,'” he said. “We have rice -- it might not be the one that you're used to getting. But it's rice, and it's good, and It's healthy.”

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Jack Hirsh

Jack Hirsh is a multimedia journalist for NewsChannel 21. Learn more about Jack here.

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