This is moronic beyond belief, but “they” have to keep the level of panic and despair amongst the proles as high as possible because Orange Man Bad.
As for shopping on line, that is unsatisfactory because so much is out of stock at any given time, you have to be ready to make alternate selections that the pickers in the store are not capable of doing.
And forget picking and choosing. Say if you want apples, you can be sure you will get the rotten or bruised ones that they would otherwise throw in the trash.
They apparently want bread lines and food riots. At this rate, they might just get them.
only question is if food shortage is real or custom made
or both