How in the world did a pumpkin shortage come to be? The good folks at Libby’s, the largest producer of canned pumpkin in the nation, have released a statement describing how sustained heavy rains for three plus months saturated fields making it impassable for tractors and other harvesting equipment to maneuver at all. Additionally, the longer the pumpkins sit in their soaked seats the lower the quality bar of the gourd falls. If the pumpkins are wet long enough eventually they will rot.  Because of these compounded reasons, Libby has stopped harvesting and canning pumpkins causing inventories to dwindle rapidly with no reserves coming to replenish local shelves.

Since my absentee pumpkin incident, both Publix and Sweetbay Supermarkets have released statements concurring they will have enough canned pumpkin supply to get through the holidays. However, that also means fierce competition to get your hands on what is left. You can fight it out and dodge some sharp elbows in aisle three if you want, but I think I’ll take this opportunity to try something new for the Thanksgiving holiday........... well, maybe after I try these new Pumpkin Maple Custards I just found, YUM!!!