So the other day I went to get a case of quart mason jars. I went to 5 different stores that normally have them, and only 1 case of 1/2 pint jars were to be found. When I asked a clerk, she said Ball has ceased production, and won’t be making any more at least this year.

So, if you need jars for any of your projects, grab em when you see em. Or cruise the lawn sales. I saw a case a couple weeks ago I wish I had grabbed now. First toilet paper shortage, then a coin shortage.

Now a mason jar shortage.

A masonic conspiracy, obviously.

A few months ago, the local Target, Walmart, et cetera were all out of stock. People with free time at home wanted to try gardening, canning, et cetera. So there was a shortage. I just purchased a case of 16 oz and 32 oz from Target. Seems they're back in stock?

I don't think the clerk's information is correct. I don't see why Ball would just cease production. In fact, they are trying to increase production to keep up with demand.

This has been going on since last February, took me an entire year of occasional checking to get a case of quart jars. Seems its gotten slightly better the last month or two(or I've just been looking more often), but I wonder if it will get worse again with gardening season just starting again.

I saw in the comments of a food preservation video I was watching from someone who had written to either Bell or Kerr and they stated that they had been working on increasing production and were hoping to keep supply more consistent this year and were focusing on specifically funneling supply to certain stores they were partnering with including Walmart, Target, Ace Hardware and one or two other store we don't have around here so I don't remember the names.

When I was talking with some other gardeners about difficulty in obtaining jars I was told it is best to ask an employee what days they get stock in, come in early in the morning, and also ask them to check if they have any in the back. Going to stores and just checking the shelves in the middle of the day doesn't have a high probability of success.

I finally got my quarts by going to Walmart at 6am on a Saturday and the shelves were full. I guess people really make a run on them since they've been in demand and out of stock so long that they don't last long once they are put out.

On another note pressure cookers have started to come back in stock a bit, but for the better, bigger models they are still up ~50% in price compared to 2019, better than all off last year where there was some serious gouging and things were double in price or even more if in stock at all. I have price alerts set for a model or two that I want if they ever get back down in price enough.