Anyone else seeing a shortage of frozen spinach at their markets (Feb 2013)?

[ipsedixit]

I'm in So. California.

[Bacardi1]

No shortage of either fresh or frozen spinach here in VA. In fact, our local Martins supermarket is running a special this week for "buy one get one free" on bags of fresh spinach.

[ohmyyum]

I'm in NC and Costco was completely out of the organic baby spinach in clamshells that I usually get, but there wasn't any sort of explanatory signage. Trader Joe's had both conventional and organic fresh spinach, and I didn't notice any sort of price increase in spinach or broccoli. Trader Joe's also had both conventional and organic frozen spinach and broccoli, as well as frozen kale-- but in bags. Again, no discernible increase in price.

I have never bought frozen spinach in boxes.. is it better, and if so, how? My mom used to buy it in boxes and it was a frozen block (impossible to just grab a single handful to throw in to a bowl of soup) and It was stringy and water-logged. I remember thinking I hated hating spinach until she started buying the fresh baby spinach and frozen bags.

[ohmyyum]

Update, broccoli heads looked like crap yesterday. They looked jaundiced, they were more yellow than green.

[sueatmo]

Actually yes. I had to buy boxes at Whole Foods because I couldn't find any at Winco. I put that down to Winco not carrying any boxed frozen veggies. I only saw bags of frozen veggies.

[westsidegal]

OT
but, you might find it useful to know for the future:
my Whole Foods will order cases of frozen food for you and give you a 10% discount at the cash register.

caveat: if you take a case worth off the shelf AFTER they take it out of the box, they won't give you the discount.

i normally buy my valrhona cocoa powder this way; a case of cocoa powder is made up of 3 one kilo bags.

[GraceW]

In the midwest, I have seen many groceries with signs up near the fresh spinach that there is also a shortage.. which is creating a problem for my morning spinach-kimchi-omelets...

[boogiebaby]

I'm guessing more people are resorting to frozen spinach now since the price of fresh spinach has gone up so much due to the weather issues.

[pine time]

Saw a sign in my local produce place this morning 'splaining a shortage/high prices of spinach and lettuce due to frost in So. Cal and Mexico. Maybe that's part of the issue.

[John Francis]

Not at the local Trader Joe's.

[westsidegal]

as of last week, there wasn't a shortage of frozen organic spinach at my trader joe's either.

[juliejulez]

I haven't looked for frozen spinach but I noticed the refrigerators where they keep the bagged/clamshell salads were very bare looking, and the prices of stuff like broccoli has gone way up just recently.

I'm in Colorado.

[boogiebaby]

I usually buy my frozen spinach from the middle eastern market not to far from me. They are a larger store (Valley Produce) so they have a lot of turnover. They had tons of frozen spinach this past weekend -- I bought 3 1lb bags myself.

[pine time]

It's harder to find the boxes of frozen chopped spinach here (San Diego county). I had thought the stores were just switching over to the Steam Fresh bags (much more expensive), though--didn't know about the shortage. Have my last box of frozen thawing right now for creamed spinach tonight.

[acgold7]

No issues here in the Seattle area. 3 lbs, 3 bucks at Costco Biz and Cash & Carry (that's Smart & Final for you SoCal folks).

[sr44]

Mr. Wegman had pound bags of spinach for sale at $.99 a couple of weeks ago, but I haven't checked since.

Do we need to watch vegetable prices as we do gasoline prices?

[Terrie H.]

I've absolutely noticed it here in the DC suburbs. Not as much the fresh, bagged spinach, but the frozen. I like to keep a box in the freezer and found myself checking 3 different stores before finding a replacement for the last one I used a couple of weeks ago.

[ipsedixit]

Yes, indeed.

I spent 2 hours last night fighting traffic and going to 3 different stores in search of frozen spinach.

!##$@$@#

[cookie monster]

Whole Foods in Venice had it, it least as of a few days ago.

[latindancer]

Was that what all the @#$ing traffic as all about last night?
People searching for spinach?

[ipsedixit]

Speaking of traffic, was anyone else on Valley Blvd between Garfield and Del Mar in San Gabriel this past Saturday afternoon?

I mean traffic is usually bad but this past Saturday it was like Obama had decided to visit and get some XLB at Mei Long Village.

[latindancer]

No, can't say I was there....

But it *did* take me 70 minutes to get from 14th & Wilshire to San Vicente....
Had to ask the bus driver next to me if Obama was in town maybe heading to Susie Cakes.

[masha]

Yup, I've noticed a fairly significant increase in the price of leaf lettuce, as well as other green produce. And, to add insult to injury, even with the price increase, you really have to pick over the broccoli to make sure the florettes are not browning or yellowed.

[bagelman01]

Here in CT there are signs up in Stop and Shop that "due to the inclement weather on the west coast there are interruptions in the supply of lettuce, spinach, brocolli and bagged salad. This applies to fresh and frozen and prices will be fluctuating rapidly.

I refused to pay $3.99 for a small head of Romaine lettuce yesterday, so I made a green salad with cabbage as the leafy base.

I saw plenty of frozen creamed spinach. but almost no plain frozen chopped spinach. Brocolli was avilable in the overpriced Steamfresh (and similar) brands, but no 2lb bags.

[ipsedixit]

Oh good, it wasn't just my imagination ...

[foodieX2]

I have seen those signs at my stop and shop but while prices have been high (bordering on insane) there has been no shortage of fresh or frozen. Was just there yesterday and there was boxes and boxes of Natures Promise spinach (their organic brand) as well as bagged. I personally loathe frozen spinach but saw they had plenty when picking up baby peas.

[bagelman01]

Yes I know there's a big storm on the way and people are cleaning out the supermarkets, but I was in both Shop and Shop in Trumbull at 7am and Price Rite in Bridgeport at 8am today and could not get much in the way of fresh lettuce,bagged salad or spinach. Trumbull Stop and Shop had no fresh spinach, except baby in plastic clamshells at $5.99. roduce manager apologized for the high price and lack of product and pointed to the above mentioned sigs all ver the department

[latindancer]

What big storm?

Ugh.

[foodieX2]

Just got back from stop and shop and their organic large clamshells of baby spinach was $2.99 and piled high. Maybe we live in a spinach hating area, LOL!

that said there was no bread or milk and very limited water. C'mon Nemo!