Nestle announces Libby’s pumpkin shortage

When I visited the Nestle Culinary Center this past April,  I learned that one of the brands under the Nestle label is Libby’s canned pumpkin. Today, I received this press release from Nestle Baking announcing that due to weather problems, there will be a shortage of Libby’s Pumpkin on store shelves! Once the current supply runs out, there won’t be any more until the next harvest.  I’m posting the press release here so that those of you who rely on Libby’s pumpkin for your holiday baking can get to the store and buy what you need before it runs out!

Press Release:

With Thanksgiving only a week away, many will be heading to their local grocery store to stock up on pumpkin products for the holiday although buyer, be forewarned, there may be a shortage this year. Nestle Baking today announced that it expects a shortage of LIBBY’S Pumpkin on store shelves as the country enters the holiday season.

Harvest generally begins in late August and continues until all the pumpkins are picked. This year, heavy rains saturated the pumpkin fields, making it nearly impossible for tractors and other equipment to operate. Agricultural experts evaluate the crop conditions throughout the season and monitor the quality of the fruit during harvest. Currently, an acre of pumpkins sit unharvested in Morton, Illinois – the “pumpkin capital of the world.” The longer the pumpkins sit in these muddy fields, the more likely it is the quality of the pumpkin has declined. Officials have determined that pumpkin which fails to meet quality standards will be plowed under, once the fields dry, to enrich the soil for the 2010 season.

As a result of the weather and the company’s commitment to picking and packing only quality fruit, the 2009 inventory of canned pumpkin will be smaller than planned. Nestle is continuing to ship the last of the already canned inventory. When it’s gone, there will be no more pumpkin available until the 2010 harvest.