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I’m hearing from all sorts of places (Facebook, Twitter, message boards, and here) that there indeed is a canned pumpkin shortage.
There was bad weather during last year’s crop that ruined about 1/3 of the crop…resulting in the shortage on grocery shelves today. I know my grocery store has been out for weeks. And others in Indiana, Iowa, California are also reporting difficulty finding this precious commodity and NECESSITY in their stores.
I share this not to induce widespread panic. Just to let you know the situation.
So, if you see a can. Buy it.
Is your store out??? Libby’s and Nestle are reassuring stores and their customers that the canned pumpkin will be on shelves again in the next few weeks.
If you are DESPERATE for canned pumpkin, look for an organic variety that might still be on the shelves, perhaps in a different part of your grocery store.
I don’t believe that we will all be without pumpkin pies at our Thanksgiving feasts this year! Nevermind that Libby’s canned pumpkin is responsible for the 50 million pumpkin pies each November!!!
Don’t panic!
Rest assured…You can substitute cooked butternut squash for pumpkin in most recipes. They are very similar in consistency, and only differ slightly in color and taste.
And if all else fails…I’ll hold onto the can I bought yesterday and auction it off!
(Just kiddin’)
Maybe.
Are you having trouble finding canned pumpkin in your area? Let us know “your area/store’s status”!
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Interesting. I’ve been wondering why my Kroger (in Houston, Texas) didn’t have any Kroger brand pumpkin for weeks. There was a small amount of Libby’s, but usually there is Kroger brand that is cheaper. They finally did get some in this week, but there isn’t nearly as much on the shelf as usual. I’m going to have to go stock up before Thanksgiving, although it’s pretty easy to bake a real pumpkin and scoop out the pulp if need be.
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Actually I went to the store the other day (in Granite City, IL) and couldnt find any! I thought it was odd because they usually have 2 brands of pumpkin there. I found the one I was looking for at a local/small business grocery store instead. I went back to the first store and they had Libby’s brand back but not the other one. I didnt think much of it until I saw this post! Thanks for the info!
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Georgina Reply:
November 18th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
@Corinna,
Hi Corinna,
I’m a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and am working on a story about the canned pumpkin shortage. Would you mind giving me a call?
Thanks.
Georgina Gustin
314.340.8195
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Jack Drum Reply:
November 20th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
@Georgina,
I live about a mile from Libby’s cannery in Morton Illinois and I know that there are fields of pumpkins rotting in the field that was grown for Libbies.
They pay the farmers to grow pumpkins for them. The farmers received their payments, but Libby’s can’t get them out of the fields. They are still canning some as of last week.
It has been to wet to get the machinery in the fields.
I just bought 2 cans of Aldi’s pumpkin today.
I am trying to find out if Libby’s cans pumpkin for Aldi’s stores.
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debbie Reply:
December 6th, 2009 at 4:51 am
I had put 2 cans of pumkin on my list for my husband to pick up,Wal -mart shelves were empty,Hannaford shelves empty so he went to our local store and found some but it was with a limit of two I heard a few months ago there was gonna be a shortage they were not kidding…..
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You don’t really need canned pumpkin. You can take a fresh pumpkin, bake it in the oven, until it gets so tender, it falls within itself. The scrape it all out from the skin. Oh, take the seeds out before you bake it. You’ll need a blender, blend small amounts at a time, until it is all liquified. I like to freeze it in baggies, zip lock of course of 1 cup amounts. Then make your pies from scratch. Just substitute the fresh for canned. I have done it many times. It also makes real good Pumpkin Bread. The make good Christmas gifts. If you have limited space in freezer, go together with friends or neighbors and share a pumpkin for pies.
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Why not make your own? Fresh pumpkin is so much yummier in recipes!! It’s SUPER easy!
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Interesting. I have around 6 cans, that were on seasonal clearance from Aldi last year. Our local Meijer has a small display here in Indiana. I believe it was all Libby’s pumpkin. I did not realize there was a shortage, or at least I can’t tell around here in central Indiana.
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I went to Wal-Mart last night and they had plenty of Libby’s canned pumpkin. They had both the large and small cans. So everyone should try Wal-Mart. The prices are usully cheaper anyway.
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In Maryland it seems the same as some others have stated, I’ve been able to find LIbby’s pumpkin almost everywhere, but not store brands. I love pumpkin, and it’s good for you!
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It is super easy to make! I made a lot last year from pie pumpkins and still have a good stock. Just cut pumpkins in half, scoop out the insides, and roast on a cookie sheet until soft. Let cool, peel, and mash with a masher. Store in freezer in two cup portions. Oh, wait, just saw someone else posted this. Anyway, yes, very easy…give it a try!
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I was in the commissary here in Alabama today and the shelf was a little light…There was plenty of the pumpkin pie mix in the can (the pumpkin with the seasoning in it.) I prefer to season my own…It was $1.79 for the large can so I bought 4 as a back up. In general I prefer to make my wn too!
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If you can’t get pumpkin, you can always make sweet potato pie. The texture might be a little off, but after adding your usual spices, the taste is the same. I made both one year and no one knew the difference.
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This doesn’t make me panic! It is truly more economic, better for you, you know where it came from, and much tastier to make pumpkin recipes from real pumpkins! You can get pie size pumpkins at farmer’s markets for $1 and it will make 2 or 3 pies, muffins, waffles, etc. etc. You can roast the pumpkin and freeze it until you need it as well. In honor of $5 dinners, I’m going to stock up on my freezing of pumpkin!
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I bought the last can from my local HEB in Texas. Gonna be looking for a few cans to have in my pantry now….
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Interesting… only in the last 100 years or so would we humans worry because the stores are out of CANNED pumpkin!
I don’t know about the rest of the country, but here in the northeast there are tons of pumpkins lined up alongside the road for the jack-o-lanterns. Perhaps we should buy one or two and make our own pumpkin!
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I didn’t know there was a shortage until about 4 weeks ago and I wanted to make my Pumpkin harvest bread and had to go to 4 stores to find a can of pumpkin! I think my guy thought I was finally loosing it because I kept saying I’m going to check just one more store. lol
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Ditto the others – the panic will no doubt give retailers the opportunity to jack the price up so I’m taking this opportunity to cook with real pumpkin. I might even can some to be sure it lasts through christmas!
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I was at Fred Meyer on Chinden today and they were out of the Kroger brand (on sale this week even) but had some large and small cans of Libby’s. I’ve never needed it before but since I had already read this article and had a gift card I was using I decided to pick up a can just in case.
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Fresh pumpkin is the best way to go. The easiest thing to do is use the pumpkin that you carve for Halloween. Just make sure that there is no candle residue when you bake or boil it. I have been doing this for years and have found that if you put a small ziploc bag in a cup and measure two cup increments into the bag after you blend it, you have your measuring already done. I have even given away frozen pumpkin to friends who don’t have time to make some. There is nothing like a pumpkin pie from fresh pumpkin.
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RuffNReddy Reply:
November 18th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
That’s what we do! I’m so happy to here about your traditional upcycling of the Halloween pumpkin! Cheers to you!
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weird — this is not an issue in our area…bought some at Costco, saw it at Fred Meyers & Safeway, and bought some more at WinCo….
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That explains quite a bit. Down here around Atlanta, GA I could hardly find any pumpkin. I will buy what I can find! Thanks for the heads up.
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Thanks for a good post on this. It is a happy coincidence that you can find fresh pumpkins worth cooking and mashing. I did a little tutorial on my site: http://worththewhisk.com/2009/10/16/canned-pumpkin-shortage-simple-steps-to-make-fresh-pumpkin-puree/
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I’m so happy you mentioned the shortage. I’ve been grumbling about how awful my local grocery stores are because they’ve been out of pumpkin puree for weeks and weeks. Strangely, they do have that awful looking pumpkin pie mix. In the meantime, I’m stocking up whenever I can find them and occasionally buying the organic canned pumpkin, which is generally 3x the price!
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We live in middle TN. My husband found out at work about the shortage. After he told me I looked in 2 Publix stores in our area. In one there were only a few cans of pumpkin pie mix and only Libby’s brand. In the other there was no mix or canned pumpkin at all. I went to Aldi’s today and found 15oz. canned pumpkin for 79cents/can. This was 1/2 the price of Libby’s. I bought 2 cases. I figure for that price it is worth it to stock up a bit. We use it not only for pies but for muffins & bread too so all will be used. My Mom said up in New England there is no shortage of baking pumpkins. In fact she said they are everywhere!
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I live in the suburbs of Chicago and have been trying to find canned pumpkin for weeks–I thought they just moved it to a seasonal display. Almost relieved to hear they are out, I thought I was going crazy!
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Peter Reply:
November 24th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Please see my post about Trader Joe’s – -the one near my house in Chicago had mountains of it today (11/24).
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Meijer had plenty of it today! Not on sale, of course. I didn’t buy any b/c I figure if it doesn’t go on sale, I’d rather just get the pie pumpkins and make it from scratch. It tastes so much better.
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RuffNReddy Reply:
November 18th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Yay for scratch! Fresh IS better!
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I went to two different publix sunpermaket in the Tampa area fl. and they were out… I had not idea I bought all the ingridients to bake pumkim muffins but ” not pumkim ” they been out for like fives weeks..
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I took a trip to walmart to buy a can of pumpkin-with the intent of baking a pumpkin cheesecake once i got home. To my surprise i was informed by a walmart worker that they did not have any and that most likely no other store would have it either. What a dissapointment! I was really hoping to make that pie and stuff my face with it. hahaha. well at least its not a rice shortage. But yes canned pumpkin is very important during this season.
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I just left Dillon’s in Wichita Kansas. They only had big cans of pumpkin for sale but they had both Libby’s and Dillon’s brands. The manager told me there probably wouldn’t be any pumpkin left by Thanksgiving and he blamed the pumpkin shortage. He said there had also been a shortage of carrots and beets this year.
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Another way to cook any pumpkin or winter squash is to cut it in half, don’t even have to take seeds and pulp out, put in large crock pot cut side down, cook on low all day, high until tender (squishy). When done scoop out pulp and seeds, discard. Then scoop out the cooked squash/pumpkin meat. I just eat it with butter and a little brown sugar. For pies I puree in blender or food processer. I make little freezer bag portions for future pie baking. Thaw and good to go!
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I live in Bixby, Oklahoma, a suburb of Tulsa. I had not heard about the shortage until I went to Super Target and they had a sign posted explaining about the shortage. It basically said this would last through the holiday season.
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Our local major grocery chain stores in Chicago are out of canned pumpkin, and are telling customers that due to the shortage, they will not have any more in stock before Thanksgiving. However, I went to Trader Joe’s and found an ENORMOUS display of canned pumpkin ( $1.99 for a 15 oz. can).
So, if you’re desperately seeking pumpkin, as I was, visit your local Trader Joe’s!
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alot of people say just get a fresh pumpkin and use that…Thats great but not so much for people that suffer from arthritis we need to find easier ways of doing things to help keep the hands from hurting and swelling so while fresh would be nice its not always an easy ansewer
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