Hershey Shortage Was Fake News

When I first heard there might be a Hershey's chocolate shortage this Halloween, I harkened back to all of those tasty Hershey Kisses I've consumed over the years and wondered if I'd get to unwrap the foil packaging from one of those little boogers ever again.

Breitbart sounded the alarm with the headline "Hershey Warns of Potential Halloween Shortage Amid Supply Chain Woes." I panicked and reposted the piece on Facebook, where Brian Botelho reassured me, "In the middle of Shaw's in Dartmouth, they have pallets of Hershey's products. They have to be at least 7 feet tall."

That certainly made me feel better – for the moment, anyway. Sure, anyone can have seven-foot-high pallets of Hershey's chocolate on August 1, but what about at Halloween, when it matters?

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I decided the truth needed to be fleshed out, so I went to Google. "Is there a shortage of Hershey's chocolate," I inquired?

A link to NBC's TODAY immediately put me at ease. "Hershey Says Reports of Halloween Candy Shortage Have Been Greatly Eggargerated," screamed the TODAY headline.

Reuters reported last week, "Hershey said on Thursday it would fall short of meeting demand for the all-important Halloween and Christmas holiday seasons this year, blaming a scarcity of raw ingredients and difficulties in securing suppliers."

But a Hershey spokesman told TODAY, "We will have even more seasonal product available to the consumer this year than last year."

By the way, Hershey makes Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, the most beloved treat this trickster has ever handed out on Halloween night. Perhaps to be safe, I should start stocking up now in case a shortage happens. You never can be too sure.