We are living through a period in which many jurisdictions have shut down virtually all non-essential commerce. People are working from home or have been temporarily laid off.
We have seen rushes on food and grocery items like toilet paper and hand sanitizer that have resulted in some short-term shortages in stores.
Some have questioned the resilience of our food system and whether we could run out of food. The easy answer is we are not running out of food. Our food system has proven to be robust and resilient and shortages are demand-based rather than supply-based.
We have cheap food. It doesn't always feel like it, but Canadians spend among the lowest proportion of our income on food in the world. Canadians who don't live in remote communities have an abundance of safe and affordable food. We also have an incredible diversity of food products available.
Stores are restocking
Yes, we have seen some shortages on grocery store shelves. But we have seen stores restocking regularly, and the expectation is that the system will catch up.
The just-in-time process used in our food system, in fact, is not unique to food supply chains. It is based on producing and shipping product to meet expected demands. It depends on accurate forecasts and smooth delivery.
We have seen a significant surge in demand as people buy large quantities in anticipation of being at home for long periods of time. This was exacerbated by panic buying, when people saw shortages in the store or heard of shortages in news reports. Products are being quickly restocked, even though they're often snapped up quickly.
We will see a return to some semblance of normality reasonably soon at least with respect to food stocks in stores. This is supported by policies at stores that are limiting quantities that people can purchase.
Demand for things like hand sanitizer continue to be high. Demand for other food products will probably stabilize relatively quickly, even if people continue to hold extra stock at home. Grocery stores have seen an increase in demand for food as restaurants are closed, but that simply shifts demand from food service distribution to supermarket distribution, and isn't leading to food supply shortages.
We are also seeing larger individual shopping orders as consumers minimize the number of times they have to go to the grocery store.
