Too Many Gardeners: The Canning Lid Shortage of 1975

"Part of the cause is the tremendous increase in the number of home gardeners.

The Federal Office of Consumer Affairs estimates that 12 million new gardeners have joined the market for home canning equipment in the past two vears."

August 14, 1975

On this day, The Hearne Democrat, out of Hearne, Texas, announced a nationwide canning lid shortage.

The problem has reached crisis proportions in parts of the country where home gardeners have planted crops in hopes of saving on grocery bills.

As harvest begins, these home gardeners are discovering the canning lid shortage means there is no way of preserving their ripe fruits and vegetables for fall and winter use...

 

Part of the cause is the tremendous increase in the number of home gardeners.

The Federal Office of Consumer Affairs estimates that 12 million new gardeners have joined the market for home canning equipment in the past two years...

 

Another part of the problem is that, in addition to the greatly increased number of gardeners who need lids, some home canners have been buying far more lids than they will need.

Because of this hoarding for future use, the shortage has been aggravated.


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