Why don't you like matzoh, Trader Joe?

Last Thursday, I went to Ralph's to begin buying food in preparation for my Passover seder on Sunday. There were about 6 boxes of matzoh left. I bought two expecting to come back for more on Saturday. Bad call. The rest of the weekend turned into an endless hunt to find matzoh. Sunday morning included trips to two Ralphs, Albertsons, Trader Joes, Longs and then finally the cracked out Von's before I was finally able to find the last three boxes of matzoh in the ENTIRE city of LA. Oh, and it was whole wheat matzoh too...Turns out LA, as well as other areas including SF and New Jersey, experienced a "matzoh shortage" this Passover. Oye vay, to say the least. According to the Daily News, this was due in part to "decisions by Costco and Trader Joe's not to carry matzoh - and a bit of stockpiling by shoppers who bought up supplies early at Vons, Ralphs and some other supermarkets". WTF.

And what does this mean, pray tell:

Faced with a barrage of media queries, a Trader Joe's spokeswoman said the chain was essentially developing a new matzo strategy. "We are taking this year to evaluate how to supply this product better to our stores and our customers," Trader Joe's spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki said in a written statement. "We also want to hear from our customers and what they expect from us."

A matzoh strategy? I didn't know there was such a thing. I love Trader Joe's, but that does not sound like much of a strategy to me. This is LA. There are lots of people here. And lots of Jews. And the Jews expect the matzoh during Passover. I'm glad Canter's was there to save the day for some people. I must add, I am intriqued by the coverage this matzoh debacle has recieved; LA Obsereved also covered the story, twice!