New York on high alert over a shortage of cream cheese

While reports of imminent catastrophe rock Jewish New Yorkers, store owners vow they won’t compromise their cream cheese-to-bagel ratio

OVER THE WEEKEND, bagel lovers across the five boroughs (read: Jews and everyone else) were shaken to the core when the New York Times announced a cream cheese shortage in the city. It was news no one expected to hear, even in their most dystopian predictions about our pandemic-ravaged society.

A cream cheese shortage affecting bagel shops: so niche, yet so terrifying. The piece, by Ashley Wong, detailed a frightening shortage of cream cheese base that New York bagel sellers use to make their signature cream cheeses.

“Supply chain issues have plagued the United States for months, causing scarcities of everything from cars to running shoes,” the Times story reads. “Now, New York’s bagel purveyors are starting to feel the effects in a sudden and surprising development that has left them scrambling to find and hoard as much cream cheese as they can.”

FULL STORY Despite looming cream cheese shortage, NY bagel shops are still laying it on thick (JTA/Times of Israel)

Photo: The cream cheese and deli counter at Tal’s Bagels amid reports of a cream cheese shortage (Julia Gergely/JTA)