Are you looking for a freezer to store the extra food you’re buying because of the coronavirus pandemic? Well, you are not alone.
News4Jax spoke with several stores in recent days that said freezers are back-ordered and it looks like it will be like that for a few more months.
First no toilet paper on the shelves, then a shortage of hand sanitizer, Lysol wipes and paper products and now freezers.
“We have a shortage of freezers right now. We sold all our freezers in April,” said Glenn Thompson, the owner of Coastal Appliance in Brunswick. “We’ve had them back-ordered since then. You can’t find a freezer anywhere. They’re just out of stock.”
Thompson said freezers won’t be coming in until July or August.
“We’ve had people call from Atlanta, Macon, Jacksonville, Waycross, all over, looking for freezers. None to be found right now,” he said. “People are looking at a month or two of stocking up food so everybody’s looking for freezers.”
As the pandemic has Americans stocking up on food, there is now a demand for the appliance.
After meat processing and packaging plants suspended operations temporarily this week because of coronavirus outbreaks, President Donald Trump signed an order for plants to stay open to prevent a shortage. But with more food needed to be stored in the freezer, they are hard to find.
News4Jax called several stores in Jacksonville. Setzer’s on Philips Highway said it doesn’t have any freezers and it can’t get any. Martin Appliance and More said almost all brands are back-ordered.
Best Buy said it doesn’t have any in-store but people can buy them online.
“People are really concerned about not having food. I think it’s safe to be wise and cautious but I think we’re going to work through this and the freezers will come back in stock,” Thompson said.