Keep Stocking The Shelves

 

 

Chloe Walchesky

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, stores have been struggling immensely to receive item shipments. Stocking shelves has proven difficult due to lack of warehouse workers. This poses concern during the upcoming holiday seasons. Families across the country are scavenging grocery stores for a Thanksgiving turkey. While many corporate stores refuse to speak on the matter, the empty shelves do not lie.

According to the owner of Fort Cody Trading Post Nick Henline, “Some things are harder to get than others; and some suppliers take months and months” Henline said. An employee at the store added, “Possibly because of Covid, there is a hard time finding workers to ship the goods,” store employee Nedezdha said.

Christmas season is approaching closer by the minute, with no sign of the shipment speed changing. This will likely lead to customer limitation of certain items during black Friday shopping. These times remind the public to purchase only what they need, to allow others access.

Items that may be difficult to obtain this year may include foreign imports such as: electronics, toys and furniture. Backorders of shipments are to be expected. Smaller holiday gifting is the route many families are taking to doctor this dilemma. However, holiday food shipment seems to be the most concerning aspect of these delays.

A possible reason for the shortage may be traced to over purchasing.  Many households are allegedly hoarding items and purchasing in mass bulk. Taking into consideration the late shipment times and hoarding of goods, this can explain a shortage of items. As of now, most stores do not have an item limit per customer on common goods. This has been speculated to change with the upcoming holiday season of Christmas.

 

When Life Gives You Lemons

 

Chloe Walchesky

The hazy sky illuminated August’s warm air. The summer of 2021 sparked a new journey in the form of a family business. Spending summers in Washington led my family to the realization of what we were missing in the vast state of Nebraska: Lemonade. The fresh hydro-pressed lemonade that resided in the farmer’s markets of Washington is exactly what we were missing.

The endeavor started off with the purchase of a hydraulic press that would compress the lemon to a pulp at the bottom. Once the press was purchased, there was no going back. Taste-testing the flavors commenced shortly after the purchase of a hydraulic press. An abundance of empty cups lay on the counter after the testing trials. If an occupation could have the duties of lemonade connoisseur, I would surely pursue it. Typically, a lemonade stand reminds masses of the adolescent years of starting your first “business”.  While the business was created for a fun summer pastime, our goal was to share how we perceived the farmers market, in the form of a delightful beverage. After achieving various permits, we set up shop in a small venue with other vendors. Waiting patiently, we watched families wander around aimlessly. The other family-oriented businesses included organic honey, handmade painting, and smoked BBQ.

An elderly man with a kind smile and baby blue eyes approached our lemonade stand inquiring about a strawberry lemonade. The press let out a futuristic humming noise and the process had begun. Shaking the lemonade, my eyes met two separate families forming a line. My urgency levels peaked as the line size rose. Suddenly, the line of customers stretched to a waiting span of thirty minutes.

As a waitress on the weekends, quick-moving was essential to my performance. Fast-paced environments are where I thrive. While waitressing requires a skill set of quick thinking and fast movement, this was rather overwhelming. The memorization of complex orders and pricing needed to be stored in our memory for a period of time until the order has been completed.

The night ended with sore arms and exhausted minds. We had not anticipated the turnout and had greatly underestimated how many lemons we would need. I had a vast appreciation for family businesses and the tremendous work that is put in behind the scenes. The summer venture installed the mindset of trial and error in my core beliefs.