I live about six blocks or so from my neighborhood Kroger store so it is only logical that I do most of my grocery shopping at that location. For some reason only known to Kroger’s upper management I suppose, they stopped stocking my favorite breakfast cereal, ‘puffed wheat’, a couple of months ago. They continued to stock puffed rice which is sort of a sister to puffed wheat, but no puffed wheat.
It should go without saying what a crisis this presented. Who doesn’t have their favorite cereal? When I asked my local store’s management as to why this had occurred, they were pretty much clueless. That struck me as somewhat odd but nevertheless, that seemed to be the way it was.
I then proceeded to visit a couple of other Kroger stores and it was the same story – they had removed it from their shelves. I then began looking for other stores that might stock my cereal and came to the stark realization that there aren’t near the number of grocery stores there used to be. In fact, within twenty miles of my home there was only Kroger, Wal-Mart and a Knight’s Food Store. None of which carried Puffed Wheat, name brand or otherwise. They all still had the ‘sugar/honey coated’ versions of the cereal but no one had the original or a facsimile. There did not seem to be any of my beloved puffed wheat in the entire town….or surrounding suburbs!
I guess this is the kind of crap you have to deal with if you live too long! 
I eventually went on-line and sent Kroger’s customer service a complaint expressing my bewilderment and disappointment over their decision to discontinue the product. I’m sure after receiving that complaint they will respond expeditiously by having puffed wheat back on their shelves immediately! 
So, how much would you pay for your favorite cereal? Well, I ultimately resolved my crisis to a degree by going to the Quaker Oats company’s on-line store and purchasing several boxes of puffed wheat and having them shipped to my home. After shipping costs, that averaged out to be right at $6.76 a box. That’s probably just about double but I’ll say one thing, it was fresh!
As sometimes happens in these exercises we are sometimes forced to go through and endure, I did find out an interesting fact or two. Quite coincidentally, 2009 is the 100th anniversary of the introduction of puffed wheat as a breakfast cereal. It was April 25th of 1909 to be exact. Now who would discontinue stocking a cereal with that kind of heritage? Well who else – KROGER!
Check out these ads….
(Click on image to enlarge)
(Click on image to enlarge)
Then there were all those Saturday morning radio programs that were supported by Quaker Puffed Wheat to include Dick Tracy, Little Orphan Annie, Roy Rogers, Gene Autry and Sgt. Preston and his dog King who tamed the Yukon, most of which ultimately ended up on television. And of course with the advent of television, we got those classic commercials….
And now after all that history regarding the greatest cereal of all time, stores have opted to not stock it? The only cereal “Shot From Guns”? It’s not just a breakfast cereal – it’s part of our heritage!
Obviously few others, if any, will be concerned with my trials and tribulations regarding my beloved puffed wheat ordeal but nevertheless, it always feels better when you release your frustrations out into Cyberspace. For those of you however who are on the edge of your seats, I will certainly add a postscript to this post if and when Kroger ever responds to my complaint! I’m sure no one would want to miss that.
Rain said,
October 26, 2009 at 11:36 am
Since I am faithful to eggs in the morning, so far there has been no like problem but if it should happen, due to cholesterol or health regulations, I will be very upset; so can relate to your angst. I shop at a Costco and they are always doing this with some product I have come to like and suddenly disappears from their shelves. If there is a logic behind it, I have yet to figure it out. Fortunately you can order what you like online. Good solution until the stores realize their error
Tina Steele Lindsey said,
October 26, 2009 at 11:41 am
Change stinks. Not always good. Sometimes very bad. I’ve lived too long, too. Kroger will probably say they are sorry, and offer you some coupons for Puffed Rice.
Nick said,
October 26, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Wow, is that ever a familiar story. For years I had the same breakfast, at least on work mornings – shredded wheat cereal and a toasted English muffin with butter and cherry jelly. Not grape. For sure not strawberry. Only cherry would do. And only one store had cherry jelly: Kroger. I sang their praises and the praises of their wonderful jelly for years. You guessed it – one day the jelly was absent from the shelves, never to reappear.
I was stunned. Not only my jelly, but jelly in general seemed to be getting the shelf space squeeze. In its place was some gummy colored substance described as “fruit spread”. Fruit spread! What’s this country coming to?
Like you, a found an internet source for my CJ fix, at a price. I’m not sure it’s quite as good but it is better than a world without cherry jelly.
Tom Vaught said,
October 28, 2009 at 8:54 am
I’m with you. I really miss my Puffed Wheat. I’m >70 y/o and have been enjoying it for a long time. The last several years I had been getting the Kroger package of it. Am I going to have to switch to Puffed Rice? How do we revolt against against such an injustice?
Tom V
Alan G said,
October 28, 2009 at 11:02 am
Hi Tom….
Yea, I was getting the Kroger brand puffed wheat myself. It wasn’t too bad although freshness was at times an issue. Never was a puffed rice fan myself. I still haven’t received a response from Kroger – not that I was really expecting one!
Cop Car said,
November 2, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Although I vividly recall the gun-shot sound effects that accompanied the “shot from guns!”, I cannot for the life of me recall which serials the ads sponsored. As one who rarely eats cold cereal of any sort, I’ll be OK as long as Hunky Husband can find his Cheerios (or, as we oldsters recall, Cheery Oats.)
I don’t suppose you would be much help in my finding my favorite brands/models of undies, would you?
We’ve not lived too long. Companies have just marginalized our favorites for lack of (comparative) demand.
Alan G said,
November 3, 2009 at 7:35 am
Hi Cop Car…
LOL….. Good luck on that underware hunt! Past ‘Fruit of the Loom”, I have limited expertise, if any at all!