hahaha Except that 78% of the American work force is deemed "essential" so there is still PLENTY of scratchy TP being used!!!

Not only that, people are stocking up and most people have way more than what they would normally have. I was annoyed at myself for not having my usual stockpile of TP from Sam's Club because I kept waiting for their sale and they were out of our favorite MEGA rolls. Normally, we have three packages in our basement but we only have one already opened package when all the shift hit the fan. UGH!

Well the shortage that comes with a shift in demand does trigger hoarding behavior which only ramps up demand even more making the problem worse. If people bought what they normally do, the problem would be so much less severe. But a few weeks back, I remember seeing one woman in the grocery store buying 60 rolls. I asked her what she was going to do with it all, and she said, "It's not me. It's my husband. He's crazy." If it was him, she was certainly an enabler. Ridiculous.

I haven't been to Costco in weeks, and the last time I was there people had 4 and 5 of the Kirkland pkgs in their carts. Unbelievably crazy. Thankfully there are limits now, but really???

I didn't even go down the TP isle when I was in SAMS yesterday...

There are probably people who can't get TP (myself included) who would buy a case of commercial TP from a supplier, and I would think that the suppliers, whose revenue has decreased due to closings, would be happy to ship to home addresses. Even thin, one-ply, scratchy TP is better than no TP.

That's what I have believed all along, it's mainly an allocation problem. I keep seeing stories about how Wisconsin dairy farmers are dumping their milk. Apparently, there isn't an outlet for it because they normally sell through schools and other institutions.. i think a lot of us would be happy to purchase their milk if they would give us an outlet to do so.

The limits on supplies are needed right now although there are ways to find what you need. Some of the restaurant supply places and janitorial supply places are willing to sell to the public. We have a couple of restaurants that are willing to sell their uncooked goods.

One restaurant was giving a free roll of tp with every $25 to go order.

One restaurant was giving a free roll of tp with every $25 to go order.

Was it Taco Bell or Chipotle? :)

Someone here shared this article a while back.

https://marker.medium.com/what-everyones-getting-wrong-about-the-toilet-paper-shortage-c812e1358fe0

One restaurant was giving a free roll of tp with every $25 to go order.

Was it Taco Bell or Chipotle? :)

Lol! We have several restaurants doing that... mainly the sit down, non-chain, ones. As part of the advertised special, they sometimes throw in a second roll.

My sister's workplace had all of their toilet paper stolen. She was able to buy rolls at the janitorial supply place. They were breaking open boxes and selling by individual rolls to the public. I've seen that other janitorial places are doing it around here also.

WI dairy farmers are dumping their milk. You want them to furnish you

with outlets to buy it? How do you think they would do that? They are

Dairy farmers and must continue milking those cows to keep them

healthy. Not sure who "they" means that you mentioned. Not trying to

be snarky here....but sure hope you aren't blaming the farmers.

And...I'm sorry for those of you who can't find TP...the grocery stores

seem to have supplies here. But....you can't keep everyone "inside

and safe", and still have everything delivered and distributed. A Catch 23

for sure.

Uptown Gal, I'm not blaming anyone.

'They' would be their supply chain.

The supply chain would have to be rerouted. I've read that a few places that have done that. As in, whatever supplier, instead of sending the 50# bag of flour to the restaurant, they take it to a local grocer instead.

The dairy farmers do have to continue milking. The milk is being dumped on location and isn't even being picked up by trucks. I'm not sure of where all of the end product goes, but I know some of it went to the schools. Many school districts are running their emergency food programs for all kids 18 and under. They could sell or give some away there at the distribution. Many of us, would buy it. It's something their supply chain would have to work out.

I went to Safeway yesterday for milk(DH drinks it). The TP shelves were completely empty! I keep checking because they have Northern TP $3 off.....a sale! lol

Thanks for the explanation Annie. That makes sense. (DH counted, we "had" 69 rolls when this thing started....from when I purchased it last November. When it was on sale for $3 for a 12 double roll pack.)

I've just seen a photo of a display table in the bakery department of a Springfield, IL grocery store. They've offering what looks like a white, flat top bundt cake with a large, round center hole. Voila! A Toilet Paper Cake.

I just read an article about the TP shortage and one of the things that was said is that it's not so much people hoarding (although some are) as it is that people are now spending all of their time at home (per Annie's post) which means they are not using public bathrooms and public TP (at work, school, while out and about). This has caused home consumption of TP to increase substantially, which in turn, has increased the amount of TP they must purchase to keep up with the demand which is also contributing to those empty shelves we're all seeing.

I've recently seen 20 pound bags of carrots and mega bags of grated cheese at my local store which I imagine is the restaurant supplies mentioned upthread.

On a happy note, I went grocery shopping on Monday and stopped by the dollar store to see if they had any TP. To my surprise they did! It was a generic off brand that I've never heard of before, but it's quilted and two-ply. They didn't have limits on how much a person could buy, so I picked up two 12 packs and feel like I won the lottery!

I was really glad I stopped by the dollar store, because when I was at the grocery store later, I took a stroll down the TP aisle and they are still completely out. They haven't had any TP for a month - I suppose they have, but apparently I haven't been there at the right time of the day or week.

I went out for the first time in 15 days this morning. My usual store is a regular grocery store, but they also supply restaurants and businesses. They have no consumer TP, but it looked like they had broken open cases of commercial TP (where the individual rolls are paper wrapped), and were selling them at the register for $1 each. I didn't need any, and have been hearing reports of local stores having consumer TP available more steadily, but it was good to see my regular store finding something of a solution.

There's no mystery, it's like everything and anything else.

The supply chain supporting any particular product for any specific market (retail vs commercial) operates to the historical level of demand (seasonally and regionally adjusted). That's what's in the pipeline at any one time. If suddenly people go to stores and buy everything of Product Z in sight and in each and every place it's sold, the inventory stocks in the stores, in the distribution centers, etc., get emptied.

The entire supply chain, starting with the manufacturers and producers, can't just push a few buttons to take production from one stream to another. They can adjust, it takes time.

Elmer, the mystery is why this shortage in the first place as people can survive without toilet paper; and why this shortage has been so persistent. Now that I understand the market better, I get it. I didn't before. It also gives me a clue as to where to source tp should we need any in the future.

This is typical of many stories that get reported (and this isn't new), many journalists discover something well known to many and not to them, and report it as if they'd uncovered an unknown insight or the solution to some great quandary or dilemma.

Don't get me wrong, I think the term "fake news" is completely BS and a technique used by liars to avoid facing the truth. I'm not saying that at all. I was often a "source" for reporters on the business beat of my local paper and the things they would call me to get background or insights about were often laughable. Just like Radner's Emily Litella character, they'd get something 90% correct and 10% wrong, and the 10% wrong would lead to complete misunderstandings on their part and send them down a rat hole. Often.

I have some not too close relatives in the extended family who have been journalists at different papers in different areas. Their propensity to get things wrong is always surprising when we talk about things. And for these two in particular, their tendencies to be closed minded and defend and stay with their misunderstandings are equally surprising. Maybe that just the personalities of the individuals involved.