Downwind "A Swig of Grape-Nuts"
About one year ago, the headline read, “The Grape-Nuts® Shortage is Over”!
Back in 2020 and early 2021, when the pandemic was in full blown panic, I could no longer find Grape-Nuts in my local grocery stores. I joked with my wife that there has been a “run” on Grape-Nuts. It turns out, shockingly, that I was correct!
Eventually, I learned that there was a “Great Grape-Nuts shortage” which Post Consumer Brands announced came to an end on March 24, 2021. In addition, the company announced it would reimburse consumers who paid inflated prices for the cereal which reached up to $110 a box on the black market during the pandemic related shortage. The shortage was caused by the top-secret way the cereal, a blend of wheat and barley (and not grapes or nuts), is made. However, the exact issue was not made clear because of the proprietary process.
In last month’s Co-Operator, Diane Marion, Cook County Farm Bureau’s Director of Ag Literacy, wrote a great column on the topic of her go-to snack, “nuts”. Cook County Farm Bureau’s local botany expert and Cook County Farm Bureau volunteer, Mr. Greg Stack, provided fun content and expertise on the topic as a part of her column.
Diane wrapped up her nutty column by saying, “My thanks to Mr. Greg Stack for sharing his botany knowledge. On a side note, I know I am not alone in my fondness of nuts for a snack. A certain FB Manager who you may know enjoys a regular snack of Grape-Nuts, another non-nut nut snack (Grape-Nuts contains neither grapes nor nuts. It’s made from wheat and barley.) Maybe he can provide a column about them someday.“ (Diane’s full Ag Lit Bit column can be found at www.cookcfb.org.)
Well, Diane should know by now to watch out for what you ask for…
My usual “on-my-way to work breakfast” formula is a combination of coffee, fresh fruit, and Grape-Nuts. As I head out the door, I grab a cluster of grapes, a banana, or an apple to go with my 32-ounce jug of coffee. I keep an old thermos in the car that I fill with dry Grape-Nuts cereal. During the commute to the Cook County Farm Bureau office, I take a swig of coffee, pop a seedless grape in my mouth, and follow with a direct dump of Grape-Nuts from the thermos (seedless grapes eaten with Grape Nuts makes me smile with the irony). “Chew-chew-chew-chew-chew-chew…swallow”. I repeat the process.
It is important to have the proper ratio of coffee, fruit, and Grape-Nuts. The coffee and fruit allow enough moisture and flavor to manage a swallow of the breakfast combo. For those of you who have tried to eat Grape-Nuts dry, it can be equated as eating granulated tree bark or crunchable rocks.
This farm-product-based breakfast combination…
- Offers me great sustenance
- Carries me through to lunchtime, effectively squashing hunger urges
- Provides wonderful exercise for my jaw, burning a ton of calories, allowing me to shed pounds!
I was first introduced to Grape-Nuts by my grandpa back in the 1970s. I remember using a pint of milk, a cup of sugar, and a plate of fruit to choke my first bowl down. Appropriately, he made fun of me. Times and tastes change.
A year ago, during the Great Grape-Nuts Shortage, there were reports of people paying $110 a box for their “fix”. I can assure you that this money pinching Farm Bureau manager did not go on the black market back alleys for a buy. Instead, I went hunting and gathering for nutritious twigs and bark to tide my cravings…I joke.
Post Consumer Brands marketing for Grape-Nuts reveals that the cereal was developed by CW Post in 1897 and has been a part of the expedition of Antarctica, the first trek to the summit of Mount Everest, and is considered a fuel for adventurers and people who live their lives on their own terms.
Yep, I believe that is true!
What…Now there is a Rice Krispies® shortage?