UNADILLA, Ga. — Many stores are still being hit by supply chain issues that started during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's especially challenging for grocery stores located in rural areas like Dooly County.
Dollean Fields lives in Unadilla. She used to be able to walk to the Piggly Wiggly and have lots of choices for fresh fruits and vegetables, but now, that's no longer the case.
"It's hard and we really need to keep it open because it's our only store," Fields said.
"If it wasn't for this store, I don't think I would have survived the cancer thing. I came and got all the stuff I needed one stop right here. I even walked and got it," Fields said.
The manager of the Piggly Wiggly, Joe Wallace, says five months back, they had a warehouse issue in Alabama where they get their supplies. The Piggly Wiggly had to cut down to 105 cases of products a week compared to the 280 they had ordered a year ago.
"As long as I've been alive -- I'm no spring chicken, but I'm not old either -- but I've never seen it this bad," Wallace said.
Greg George, an economics professor from Middle Georgia State University, says oftentimes, rural communities are last in the pecking order because it takes a while for supplies to get to them.
Wallace says it's become a snowball effect-- less products to offer means less customers coming in and less demand for the store.
"At some point, you're at your breaking point. We're not there yet, so we have to watch every little penny that comes in and comes out," Wallace said.
He says their budget has slowly shrunk making it harder to maintain the store. Fields hopes to see things back and running soon.
"Whatever the community can do to build it back up, because it shouldn't be that much. We had it we just need to get it back," Fields said.
Greg George says he sees supply chain issues persisting definitely through the end of the year, and possibly even into next spring.