Lack of jars slows the jelly

One of the side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is that people have become more resourceful in terms of baking their own bread and making their own jelly.

An unintended consequence of that may be the increased purchasing of jars to make jelly is making life a bit difficult on farmers who sell jellies for a living.

Krista Scudlark, owner and operator of Backyard Jams and Jellies in Milton, almost had to get out of the jelly-making business because there were no jars available. Backyard Jams and Jellies has been known for decades for selling its product around local farmers markets, with the Beach Plum Jelly being a particularly popular item.

Scudlark said she ordered 110 cases of Ball mason jars from Dutch Valley Food Distributors in Myerstown, Pa. But that order never came as the distributor had no more in stock. She then went to local stores to find them, only to find shelves cleaned out at places like Southern States, ACE Hardware and Walmart. 

Scudlark said she thinks the reason for the shortage is a combination of two things: closings at manufacturing plants brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fact that more people have learned to can their own food during the pandemic in order to avoid going to grocery stores. She said factories are having difficulty keeping up with the increased demand. What jars are being sold are at inflated prices; she said typically a case of jars cost between $8 and $10, but cases are being sold on Amazon for $19.99. 

Scudlark posted about her plight on Facebook Aug. 13, and the response became overwhelming.

“I just casually posted on Facebook and opened up a can of worms,” she said. “I’ve had people calling with tips. I’ve had a lot of jars dropped off. People are leaving recycled jars.” 

In a followup post, Scudlark thanked the community for helping out and keeping operations going. She said she was able to get a shipment of 30 cases of jars Aug. 19.

“We’re hanging in there,” Scudlark said. 

Still, the lack of jars came at a bad time, as much of her fruit is already ripe. Scudlark said her plan is to freeze as much as she can and make the jelly later.

“We’re using everything we can find,” she said. “It will be fine.”