LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Have you noticed empty shelves at your grocery store? It's not anything like we saw last year with toilet paper, but not everything is fully stocked.
Shelves look full, but it's specific brands that people are having a hard time finding.
"There's a certain brand of ice cream I can't get and there's a certain brand of pickles I can't get," one shopper said.
It almost feels like deja vu, back to the beginning of COVID-19.
As people walk through the grocery store aisles, some of their favorite food staples just aren't there.
From Gatorade to cheese, the search to find certain items is making some shoppers' trips to the grocery store a little longer.
"It's caused me to pop from store to store to see if one has it and one doesn't," one other shopper said.
With workers constantly restocking goods, then, why are we still seeing empty shelves and why is it so random?
Steve Goode, with the Arkansas Grocers and Retail Merchants Association, described it as "hit or miss."
"There are allocations that are being put out by most of the manufacturers, and then which in turn, put the wholesalers on allocation," he said.
Sometimes, according to Goode, it depends on when the trucks are rolling into the store's parking lot.
"If you get a delivery on Tuesday, you may get a product that your sister store, right down the road in your same company, doesn't get if they get a Wednesday delivery," he said.
If you can't find your favorite Diet Coke flavor, Goode said it may be because it's not the company's most popular item.
"The things that are not big sellers, they're not gonna package because they've only got limited packaging availability," he said.
Goode said he isn't sure when it will end.
"I'm afraid to answer that question because even the articles that I've read people much smarter than me, nobody's really saying hey, we're out of the woods on X date," he said.
Experts said you may just have to improvise next time you're out shopping.
You heard your parents say it all the time growing up, but eat your fruits and veggies because produce isn't experiencing any shortages right now.
Also, ham, turkey and everything you need for your Thanksgiving meal is in full supply!