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One of the country’s largest snack food producers found itself in the middle of a good old-fashioned New York City drama on Monday.
A report from the New York Post says that Frito-Lay, which produces junk food labels like Cheetos, Funyuns and Doritos, is seeing a shortage of its products in shops and bodegas across Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens. The snack scarcity is a result of an exodus of delivery drivers at the company’s distribution depots in the Bronx and Brooklyn following sweeping changes in pay structure last year, the piece claims.
The article struck fear in the hearts of sodium-loving New Yorkers who have grown to love the company’s snacks. And while scores of bodega owners told the Post that they’ve run out of Frito-Lay products, the company chalks the whole situation up to a reorganization in the way that it services customers.
A Frito-Lay spokesperson told Time Out New York on Monday that the company has in fact altered the way that it distributes to some of is customers and has converted delivery service to some smaller stores and bodegas from internal drivers to its Snacks to You program, which ships snacks via UPS. The spokesperson also said that the Frito-Lay has not seen a decline in the number of snacks that it is distributing across New York, contradicting the claims made in the Post.
“We have the city of New York's snacks ready to go,” the company said in a statement. “All sales routes are running as planned over the course of the week. As usual we work with retailers to address any service needs.”
The shops that are reportedly being affected are primarily located in Brooklyn and in Manhattan below 49th Street. And while the full extent—or actual existence—of the shortage remains unclear, one thing became evident on Twitter Monday morning: You do not want to mess with New Yorkers’ stress-eating habits.
the bumps you feel are asteroids smashing into the hull of this ship also. We're flying without a navigational system. We're also out of Funyuns. https://t.co/GwAWRaShW1 @Fritolay
— Matthew B. Kratter (@mbkratter) March 19, 2018
— Adrienne Vogt (@AdrienneVogt) March 19, 2018
shit's getting real out there https://t.co/jMHOUHR78y pic.twitter.com/D20n4BaR6O
— Kira Bindrim (@KiraBind) March 19, 2018
FRITO-DE'LAY https://t.co/d0vRmXVhuo pic.twitter.com/2Kw45vlYO0
— Alex Fitzpatrick (@AlexJamesFitz) March 19, 2018
Oh no... this is a crisis. 😯 #Hungry https://t.co/E6Atnb6SP8 @Fritolay
— Kellie Autumn Ell 가을 (@KellieAutumnEll) March 19, 2018
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