What’s the Deal with the Fritos Shortage in East Texas?

Many in East Texas associate this time of the year to hunting deer.  The quest to bag a white tail drives the dreams of many hunters in the Pineywoods.  A few days ago, I went out on a hunt of my own. However, the pursuit to bag my prey proved to be a lot harder than I expected.

I was not attempting to bag a deer, instead, I was trying to bag a bag...of Fritos.

My wife had called me to let me know of her plans to make some chili for dinner and she had been by several stores to try to find a bag of Fritos. Well, she knows that I pride myself on being able to find the unfindable, so I told her I would be home soon with the corn chips in hand.

I failed.

Look, I completely understand last year's shortage of cleaners, masks, gloves, and hand sanitizers -- the demand was enormous.  I even somewhat get the scarcity of toilet paper in 2020.  The new pandemic caused us to be overly anxious.  Anxious people want to find comfort, and for me, my room of comfort is the bathroom.

But, what's the deal with Fritos being harder to find than common sense in Washington D.C.?

I did a little research and saw that there was a short labor strike among Frito Lay workers that happened over the Summer, but that ended in July and is not the cause for the current shortage.

Has there been some sort of event that has driven an abnormal demand for corn chips?  Did the Sanderson Sisters concoct a spell out of their Black Book to cause East Texans to crave Frito Pies or die?  Did every concession stand in the greater Pineywoods area decide to stock up on Fritos at the same time?

It must be a supply issue; a strange anomaly in the supply chain that is affecting corn chips, cat food and certain popular flavors of gatorade.  Maybe the trucks delivering all the Fritos are still stuck at the red light on Highway 59 in the construction zone.

Apparently, it's a little blip that should be temporary.

Regardless of the reason, if this shortage isn't corrected soon, the guys driving those little Frito-Lay delivery trucks in the area may have to hire some security to ride shotgun. I mean, I would never stoop so low as to rob Fritos from a truck.

Now...if a Little Debbie driver ever left his truck unattended, that might be a different story.