Food shortages may be the next world crisis. The price of these sanctions is not just imposed upon Russia; it’s imposed upon a lot of countries, including European countries like our country. Both Russia and Ukraine have been the breadbasket of Europe in terms of wheat, for example.”

There are a number of variables at play in the grocery shortages we’re seeing this year. “It is a combination of factors: supply chain issues and driver shortages, scarcity of packaging, labor shortages at manufacturing and production plants as the workforce has not returned as facilities restarted from COVID closures,” Keith Daniels of Carl Marks Advisors told us. And, yes, COVID-19 plays a huge role, especially the latest variants.