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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Pumpkin pie filling low, but help on way

Jerry Hirsch Los Angeles Times

Pumpkin pie lovers be warned: You may not find your favorite can of pie filling at the supermarket.

There’s a national shortage of canned pumpkin and pie filling, a result of poor weather that reduced the supply of last year’s crop.

Shoppers report finding bare shelves, and supermarkets say they have been put on a quota system by Libby’s, a division of food giant Nestle that controls more than 80 percent of the canned pumpkin market.

Libby’s typically uses surpluses from the prior year to stock store shelves during September and October, when the annual pumpkin harvest gets under way.

Wet conditions during last year’s growing season left canners without a surplus this year, said Roz O’Hearn, a Libby’s spokeswoman.

But this year’s crop is on its way. “We began shipping Libby’s 100 Percent Pure Pumpkin (filling) in late September, so it should be on grocers’ shelves soon,” she said.

Shoppers could find the filling a bit more expensive this year.

Libby’s has a suggested retail price of $1.59 for its 15-ounce can and a suggested price of $2.59 for its 29-ounce cans of pure pumpkin and pumpkin pie mix.

O’Hearn said the prices represent a “small increase” over last year due to higher expenses for the steel used to make the cans and higher grower costs.

Libby’s uses what it calls the Select Dickinson pumpkin. It is smaller, squatter, meatier, heavier and sweeter than the typical Halloween pumpkin. The food processor likes the creamy texture of the pumpkin because it lends itself to cooking.

Supermarkets say they expect to have enough of the canned filling in stock to supply shoppers by the time Thanksgiving approaches.

“We’re not out today, just low,” said Albertsons spokeswoman Stephanie Martin. “We’ll be fully stocked for the holidays, which is the high-volume selling period for this product.”