PORTLAND, Ore. — Pumpkin lovers can relax: A nearly yearlong shortage of the canned stuff is over.
That means an end to the hoarding, rationing and even pumpkin profiteering that have been going on since heavy rain ruined last year's harvest and caused a shortfall. But the country's top producer says this year's crop is healthy and cans are arriving in stores.
"I was a little panicked," Jamie Lothridge of Toledo, Ohio, said about the prospect of a another season low on pumpkin. The avid baker bought more than 25 cans last fall and was down to her final few this month when she called Libby's to make sure it would be back.
Nestle, which sells about 85 percent of the canned pumpkin in the U.S. under its Libby's brand, said customer inquiries have grown five-fold since last fall, when it warned it might not have enough to get through the holidays.
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