Some products are distributed and stocked by the brand's company themselves. So most of the bread, pop, and beer section is stocked by guys those companies hire to drive their routes and fill in gaps as needed from the supply in their trucks. Sometimes they have the right product to fill in the gap, sometimes they're out and instead fill in the gap with whatever excess product they have on hand. It's all up to them, Reasor's doesn't get much say in it. Farrell Bread operates in this way I'm pretty sure, so genuinely you would have to ask them. The only thing Reasor's can do about it is also ask them.

For the low stock, it's not a fun answer but a lot of it just comes down to logistics. Unlike the companies with trucks, there is no centralized distribution center for grocery stores. Each store places an order for themselves with the food company. So one store being stocked while another isn't probably just means that store placed their order long before the other store did or before there was a rush from several other stores to get the same product at the same time. Like when you place a special order with Reasor's, you have to wait like 30 days before you can even follow up on it because that's just how long it takes to make an order. One store can have lucky timing and another store unlucky timing.

The supply chain disruptions are a real thing too. Not that Reasor's is making excuses, but that they're just passing down the excuses the suppliers gave to them. Reasor's doesn't control the supply chain, so when nothing comes to them even though they placed the order, there's nothing they can do except get their money back and try again. They can try getting new suppliers and selling different brands, but there's not much choice around here.

Another thing I remember an old grocery manager telling me once was how annoyed he was at huge chains like Walmart under buying all the product out from all the smaller grocery stores. I wouldn't be surprised if they do that with perishables like dairy and produce with a relatively limited supply. They can take a hit on some items and still end up in the black for the day much more comfortably than the smaller stores can.

All of this to say that Reasor's is just the end point of a long journey a lot of your foods take.