New York (CNN Business) If you've gone into your local independent grocery store recently, chances are you'll still find a shortage of items like toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning supplies. There's no publicly available data tracking out-of-stock products at small versus big stores. But Burt Flickinger, a supermarket consultant at Strategic Resource Group, said he and his team visit stores around the country every week, and they have found in the pandemic that chain stores "by far" have better supply than independent stores. Independent grocers — which are more likely to be located in lower-income communities and rural areas than chain stores, the Agriculture Department has found — buy their goods from small to medium-sized wholesalers. Independent grocery stores say they're feeling the effects.

Source: The Nation March 10, 2021 16:52 UTC