Canned pumpkin is in great demand in Oklahoma
Shortage: Grocery stores struggle to fill shelves
BY JENNIFER PALMER
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Published: September 30, 2009
Bakers wanting to start the season with a freshly baked pumpkin pie might be hoping they have a can of pumpkin stashed in a cabinet somewhere.
Bad weather in parts of the country has caused an early shortage of canned pumpkin, although some grocers say they’ll have it on shelves soon — and in plenty of time for the Thanksgiving holiday. Dale Brooks, operations manager for Crest Foods in Edmond, said their stores haven’t had canned pumpkin in stock since April. "I’ve had a few people ask for it,” he said. "I’m supposed to be getting some in next week,” he said, but his supplier wouldn’t guarantee a shipment. Buy For Less stores also are running low on canned pumpkin. Marketing director Denise Hawkins said the stores haven’t been able to place their holiday orders and have been told there will be a limited number of cans per shipment. "At this time, orders for the holidays are up in the air,” she said. She advises shoppers to stock up now if having canned pumpkin is really important to their holiday festivities. The apparent shortage won’t affect bakery or frozen premade pumpkin pies, she said.
Weather to blame
The problem stemmed from the 2008 pumpkin harvest, said Roz O’Hearn, a spokeswoman for Nestle. The company owns the Libby’s pumpkin brand, which supplies nearly 90 percent of all canned pumpkin.
The Libby’s crop is grown on 5,000 acres in Morton, Ill., near Peoria. Poor weather led to a smaller than normal 2008 harvest, which meant there were fewer cans left over after last year’s holiday baking season, when most people use it in pies and bread.
O’Hearn said there was fear about the 2009 crop because there was wetter than normal weather around the time the pumpkins were planted. But the harvest is under way, and it appears to be better than last year’s, she said.
Pumpkins used in cooking are usually different varieties than those carved up as jack o’lanterns.
Contributing: Associated Press
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