According to data from market research firm IRI, grocery costs keep climbing — up 9% in 2021 — and will continue to do so in 2022.

With the combination of cargo ships backed up; costs of everything including labor, fuel, ingredients, packaging and transportation going up; and labor shortages, the effects are visible on empty grocery shelves.

Though there are no easy fixes, one piece of advice rings through — don’t waste or hoard food and other necessities. Make the most of what you have, and don’t overdo it when selecting from sparse offerings in area stores.

Prices will continue to be high and shelves will be low-stocked. Don’t go crazy and buy all the toilet paper this time around.

Shop smart, buy what you need and know you may have to go without some items. Certainly you should continue to take advantage of sale prices and keep clipping coupons to help you save money, but don’t stock up on any one item to the point where you will grow tired of it and allow it to go to waste.

There is nothing the stores can do. They cannot stock items that simply aren’t arriving at their doors. Yelling at the workers will not solve anything. All that will do is create more stress.

This is a problem beyond the person you see working his or her hardest at the store. Until our broken supply chain is fixed — and surely companies and policymakers have sorted out that domestic production should be part of the answer — we must shop smarter and make better choices.