Canned Pumpkin likely shortage

[mouse_chalk]

Ali asked me to post this- she emailed it to me, as she's only online on her iPhone at the moment and starting a new thread is tricky!

Here's it copied and pasted:




Subject: Anticipated Libby's canned pumpkin shortage


Many of us use Libby's canned pumpkin as a food supplement for our
bunnies. Nestle has announced in the following statement on their website that
due to soggy conditions in the Illinois pumpkin fields there was a limited
corp this year, with no new product stock expected until next fall.


Having Trouble finding LIBBY'S Pumpkin - NESTLE Very Best
Baking_ (http://www.verybestbaking.com/libbys/classic/shortage.aspx)



(Some viewers may need to cut-and-paste the above URL.)

Here's the important part:

"We've made the difficult decision that we will not pack any more pumpkin this year
which means that through the holiday season and until next fall's harvest, LIBBY'S
pumpkin will be hard to find."

Just F.Y.I.

(OK to forward and/or cross-post)

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

oh crud!!!!!!!!!!! i bought a bunch for thanksgiving cause i plan on making pumpkin pie and bread, i guess i will hold on to a few cans instead. i just counted i have 7 cans!!!!! i am going food shopping tonight and if they have any left i will be grabbing as much as i can,lol

 

[naturestee]

I wonder if store brands will have the same shortage problem?

 

[BethM]

naturestee wrote:

I wonder if store brands will have the same shortage problem?

Store brands are often made in the same facility, with the same supply, as the brand names. I guess it just depends on where they get their pumpkin supply from.

Every grocery store I've been to in the last week has huge pallets of canned pumpkin on sale, for Thanksgiving.

I guess I will be stopping on my way home to stock up. Someone will miss out on their pumpkin pie this year, so my bunnies can have canned pumpkin.

 

[hartleybun]

BethM wrote:

Someone will miss out on their pumpkin pie this year, so my bunnies can have canned pumpkin.

:roflmao:

i've not seen this for sale here. i buy fresh pumpkins for soup tho'. will have a look out for the canned variety next shopping trip.

 

[ntwhelan]

Would someone please explain how and why you feed pumpkin to your bunnies? Is it in addition to other foods or a main part of their diet. I've only been keeping bunnies from early spring this year and feed them organic oxbow pellets, greens and of course lots of hay.

I'd like to know.

Nelson

 

[AmyBunny]

Pumpkin is good to use when they aren't eating or feeling well. It's high in fiber, so can help keep their gut moving. It can be fed on it's own to try to entice them to eat, or mixed with Critical Care to help feed if they are sick for longer. You need to get the straight canned pumpkin though, not the pumpkin pie filling.

 

[Orchid]

my local store is packed on pumpkin lol...I suppose I will have to grab a bunch of cans up though...

 

[Pet_Bunny]

BethM wrote:

I guess I will be stopping on my way home to stock up.

My canned pumpkin has a stamped expiry date on the can, so be sure you use them beforethat .

Once you open a can, you can freeze any leftovers.

 

[naturestee]

Along with feeding to ill bunnies (or mixing with Critical Care to cover up the taste), I feed canned pumpkin when my bunnies are shedding a lot. The extra water and the fiber help push through all the extra fur.

 

[BethM]

Pet_Bunny wrote:

BethM wrote:

I guess I will be stopping on my way home to stock up.

My canned pumpkin has a stamped expiry date on the can, so be sure you use them beforethat .

Once you open a can, you can freeze any leftovers.

I decided to wait until I do my grocery shopping this weekend to stock up on pumpkin. If I don't use it in time, I can always make pumpkin bread out of it.

I'm glad you mentioned freezing the extra, I hadn't even thought of that. I know it will stay good in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days.

 

[katt]

and when you freeze it do it in ice cube trays, once they are all the way frozen you can pop them out and put them in a airtight bag, that way you don't have to get the whole frozen mass out when needed, but use a 'cube' at a time

this is what i do!

i've already started stocking up. . . as pumpkin makes winnie as giddy as a pudgy 5 year old with a chocolate bar

 

[BethM]

I just read a Wall Street Journal blog entry about this. They did mention that organic pumpkin is grown in different states, and has not been affected by the shortage.

So, pumpkin won't be totally unavailable, it will just cost more.

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

Katt that is a great idea about the ice cube tray!!!! i will have to try that

 

[undergunfire]

I'll have to get some! My bunnies rarely get it (I mostly forget its in the pantry), but I always have a few cans on hand just in case.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Is that why canned pumpkin is so expensive this year????Around herethe local farmersgrow so manyevery year theyend up rotting in the fields... :rollseyes

Rue

 

[AngelnSnuffy]

naturestee wrote:

I wonder if store brands will have the same shortage problem?

Angela, I believe it's mostly here (Libby's brand) where we had all that rain during harvesting season. Morton, IL is where their farm is based and is soaked! They deliver for Libby's. What's funny is that on the news they showed the farmers walking the fields, well, walk it and pick the pumpkins! Hire kids to do it instead of taking farm equipment through it which would sink! :? That is why there will be a shortage here.

 

[BethM]

AngelnSnuffy wrote:

naturestee wrote:

I wonder if store brands will have the same shortage problem?

Angela, I believe it's mostly here (Libby's brand) where we had all that rain during harvesting season. Morton, IL is where their farm is based and is soaked! They deliver for Libby's. What's funny is that on the news they showed the farmers walking the fields, well, walk it and pick the pumpkins! Hire kids to do it instead of taking farm equipment through it which would sink! :? That is why there will be a shortage here.

The pictures I have seen online show a lot of the pumpkins are sitting in water and mud, as well. I would guess that the labor cost of having someone sort through which pumpkins are good or rotting would be much higher than revenues they would bring in from a small amount of salvagable pumpkins.

It's probably fine (from Libby's standpoint) to just raise the price on what they already have processed and let the few good pumpkins go.

The WSJ article I read stated that this only affects pumpkins grown in Illinois, but that Libby's controls 80-90% of the canned pumpkin market.

 

[tonyshuman]

My grocery store was totally out of pumpkin in cans, even pie filling last night! :nerves1 Luckily I already have a stockpile of my own home grown pumpkin puree (my garden had a great year for pumpkins), and a few more pumpkins sitting around the house to cook up.

 

[golfdiva]

I have 1/2 of a can of pumpkin in my freezer, Hershey absolutely won't eat it! Anyone want it?