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The aisles and aisles of empty store shelves give the appearance that the United States, improbably and alarmingly, is running out of food. But the nation’s biggest retailers, dairy farmers and meat producers say that isn’t so. The food supply chain, they say, remains intact and has been ramping up to meet the unprecedented stockpiling brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Even so, shoppers can most likely expect to see empty shelves intermittently, as the nation’s network of food producers, distributors and retailers are stretched as never before. Industries that are calibrated to supply consumers with just enough of what they need on a given day cannot keep up with a nationwide surge of relentless shopping fueled in large part by fear. (Corkery, Yaffe-Bellany, Nierenberg and Bui, 3/15)

The White House on Sunday urged Americans against "hoarding" as thousands flocked to supermarkets to stock up on essentials, saying U.S. supply chains were strong and federal and local leaders were working together to ensure food supplies are available. President Donald Trump held a phone call with more than two dozen grocery store and supply chain executives from across the country, White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. (3/15)

He claimed there are “no shortages” at stores but people are “buying three-to-five times what they normally buy.” On the call with top grocers, food manufacturers and agribusinesses, Trump said stores can help Americans “feel calm and safe when shelves are stocked with the items they need” amid the outbreak, according to a readout provided by the White House. Leslie Sarasin, president of FMI, the food industry association formerly known as the Food Marketing Institute, said the administration and industry are on the same page about making sure that “stores can stay open and stocked." (McCrimmon, 3/15)

U.S. grocers are adjusting their operations to try to keep up with customers who are emptying their shelves amid angst over the new coronavirus, even as their own employees face heightened risk of infection. Across the country, lines to get into stores snaked around corners, checkout times stretched as long as an hour and whole aisles were rendered bare this week as companies told more workers to stay home and schools began to cancel classes. (Kang and Gasparro, 3/15)

Stores are racing to replenish depleted shelves and to calm shoppers anxiously preparing for coronavirus disruptions, but they are having trouble meeting the heightened demand. "Hand sanitizer is going to be very difficult to have 100 percent on stock on for some time," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said at a White House news conference Friday. "We're still replenishing it and shipping it, but as soon as it hits the stores, it's going." (Popken, 3/15)

In Union, New Jersey, a Target opened at 8 a.m. and had sold out of its full stock of milk and bottled water five minutes later. In Austin, Texas, some gas station pumps ran dry. Not a bottle of bleach could be found at a Home Depot in Fairfax, Virginia. As dawn broke across the United States on Saturday, thousands of shoppers lined up outside supermarkets and grocery stores before they opened, eager for a chance to buy essentials that have flown off shelves as the country hunkers down to slow the spread of coronavirus. (3/15)

Curt La Haise has put up with plenty of razzing from friends over the years who have called him paranoid for stockpiling an eight-month supply of food in his basement and having enough fuel to power his generator for almost an entire winter. They're not laughing anymore amid panic buying that has cleared store shelves across the U.S. and growing fears that the new coronavirus will force many Americans to self-quarantine for weeks in their homes. (Seewer, 3/15)

Behavioral experts looked at the panic-buying that swept through metro Atlanta in recent days and were not appalled or shocked. The rush of consumers to markets, the long lines, the shelves emptied of staples, the anxious expressions – all were very human, even sensible reactions to a noxious mix of danger, uncertainty and chaos. (Kanell, 3/14)

David Stone snagged a cardboard box of .223-caliber ammunition from the shelf and slid it across the glass countertop, offering his go-to sales pitch: “Welcome to the biggest selection of ammunition in all of Oklahoma.” “I’m not sure I can keep on saying that,” Stone said, explaining that the supply of goods at Dong’s Guns, Ammo and Reloading has been seriously depleted over the last few days. (Lee and Chabria, 3/15)

Amazon warned of delayed deliveries and items going out of stock as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread. The online retailer said the increase in people shopping online is having a short-term impact on how it serves customers. “In particular, you will notice that we are currently out of stock on some popular brands and items, especially in household staples categories,” Amazon said in a blog post updated Saturday. (Klar, 3/15)

From disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker in Missouri to a convenience store operator in New Jersey, suspected fraudsters are trying to take advantage of the coronavirus panic to trick consumers into buying useless or harmful products, triggering state anti-gouging laws and anti-fraud efforts by state attorneys general. (Povitch, 3/13)

A Tennessee man who became a subject of national scorn after stockpiling 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer donated all of the supplies on Sunday just as the Tennessee attorney general’s office began investigating him for price gouging. On Sunday morning, Matt Colvin, an Amazon seller outside Chattanooga, Tenn., helped volunteers from a local church load two-thirds of his stockpile of hand sanitizer and antibacterial wipes into a box truck for the church to distribute to people in need across Tennessee. (Nicas, 3/15)