Trader Joe's Almond Butter Crisis

For those of you following me on Twitter, you know I have a serious addiction to two things: sweet potato chips and Trader Joe's Unsweetened Almond Butter. Both of these foods have gotten me through this annoying elimination diet since they are both considered "ok" to eat. Probably not the best food choices in the world, but they aren't banned from my diet.

Much to my dismay, it has proven very difficult to find the Trader Joe's Unsweetened Almond Butter. I've been two a Trader Joe's in Manhattan, NY and one in West Hartford, CT. Both had empty shelves. My mom went to two Trader Joe's on Long Island (NY) and she also found a hole where the unsweetened almond butter once lived. I finally spoke to an employee at Trader Joe's and he said there was an almond butter shortage and they rarely got deliveries any more. This sounded slightly unbelievable but I took his word and went on the hunt for more.

I finally did find some almond butter at Trader Joe's Chelsea and bought three jars. At $5.99 a jar, this is by far the cheapest unsweetened almond butter on the market and if I knew how hard it would be to find it I would have bought more. Yes, there are other almond butters on the market but I refuse to pay more than $10 for only 6-10oz at most. That is just craziness.

Fast forward about 3 weeks since I finished my last jar and I am in a severe drought and having withdrawal symtoms. I tried sunflower butter but it just doesn't cut it. Insert sad face here. I rarely write to companies but I was missing my treat and my elimination diet has led me to do some weird things (don't ask!). Yesterday, I got this response from Trader Joe's:

Hi Erin,
Thank you so much for contacting us. We sincerely apologize for the stock issues we have had with our almond butter. Each store is able to order only one case (12 jars) at a time, and delivery is not always guaranteed. 

There is a delay in sourcing the raw materials, so production of the almond butter will be slowed until at least the end of June. Please know that, going forward, we are working hard to be able to keep this product on the shelves at all times - we love it, too! 

Regards,KerryCustomer Relations

One case at a time?! 12 jars for a city of 8 million people?! Almond sourcing issues?! Trader Joe's get it together. Ship some more of that almond butter to Manhattan, PRONTO. Gluten-Free Fun needs her fix!