Slim Jim Shortage in Effect
File this under "Because We Rarely Have Reason to Talk About Slim Jims": If you're wondering where your beloved beef jerky sticks are, there's a shortage due to a deadly explosion last month caused by a gas leak that destroyed the only Slim Jim plant in the country in Garner, North Carolina, and killed three employees. The company doesn't expect to meet full Slim Jim demand until fall. [via Best Week Ever] Update (7/13/09): Donations to the ConAgra Foods Garner Plant Fund are being accepted through United Way. BlueRidgeNow.com has a feature about the victims and their families. The factory will resume operations on July 27. ConAgra says there is no Slim Jim shortage.
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10 Comments:
a deadly explosion.
http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/1563341.html
"Police have identified the victims as Barbara McLean Spears, 43, of Dunn, Lewis Junior Watson, 33, of Clayton and Rachel Mae Poston Pulley, 67, of Clayton. Wednesday's news ended an agonizing night for Pulley's family."
maybe tone down the joke a little.
sorry to be a downer, I know the linked articles don't really mention the loss of life, jobs, and injured employees and firefighters.
intheyearofthepig at 4:15PM on 07/08/09
I am sure Robyn did not mean anything disrespectful by talking about the shortage. Support also comes in the form of commerce.
JerzeeTomato at 4:24PM on 07/08/09
@intheyearofthepig: Thanks for pointing that out; I'm adding the link to my post!
roboppy at 4:29PM on 07/08/09
As someone that lives in the area, my wife and I also found the fact that the Slim Jim plant exploded funny, until we found out that people died, then it wasn't as funny of course. A friend of ours went on a tour of that plant 3-4 years ago while in college, and he hasn't eaten any pepperoni or jerky since then, which doesn't really make me want to eat a Slim Jim myself.
smackrabbit at 4:42PM on 07/08/09
I hear you.
I didn't think Robyn had any intention of being insensitive,
honestly.
I really didn't want to be a downer,
also being from the area, the tragedy was just more on my media radar and some the stories of of the employees' experiences were pretty intense and stayed with me.
thanks Robyn.
intheyearofthepig at 5:05PM on 07/08/09
I live here in Raleigh...and I didn't realize that this was the only plant that made Slim Jim's. It was a sad story...
arm1970 at 9:01AM on 07/09/09
This is the first time I heard that there was an explosion at the plant, the way i heard it on the news was "three people have died from a freak accident" I seriously thought three people might have been killed by huge industrial choppers or mixers.....not that it was not devastating enough. I can't imagine being a family member and realizing your loved one died while at their job. I wish them time and healing.
Nemis at 9:58AM on 07/09/09
I'm sorry that the post came off as insensitive—I did not mean to make fun of the people who died in the accident, imply that factory accidents are funny, or show that factory accidents are "open game." I don't plan on taking this post down, but I'll amend it to give more information.
roboppy at 4:58PM on 07/13/09
I think the two can be veiwed as seperate. It's a tragedy that people lost their lives in this accident. It's beyond funny that the Slim Jim plant exploded. If you sodium nitrate addicts can't wait until August to restock the dried meat snack cupboard, maybe you could consider a healthier option...
http://www.veganessentials.com/catalog/primal-sticks-meatless-beef-sticks.htm
Sugar at 2:15AM on 07/14/09
It's a tragedy in two fronts foremost the lose of life cannot be regained and the families and friends that have been affected by these deaths will leave voids in their lives that will never be filled and I give my most sincere condolensces to them. On the second front [not nearly as important as the lose of life] My secret love affair with Slim Jims is stymied for some time that will pass all too slowly, my binges that went as far as eating up to 20 in a day and at times lasting for 2 maybe even 4 days. My favorite flavors are the tabasco and the new "HOT" the original will do for a short time as I drive from 7-11s to Quickiemarts in near panic while I'm jonesing and nearing withdrawls to find the two flavors and I'll buy 10 - 20 to hide in my center consule so my wife wont know about my continued cheating. For some reason the original diameter size tastes the best as the giant can last longer and comes from the same mystery mixture it's just not the same. It could be the quanity I can stuff in my pie hole and the ratio of size of bites to area filled has some relevance. I will long for the day when my beloved SlimJims will return [if the government doesn't make them illegal]. The flavor of the SlimJim is unique and no other brand comes close to the flavor and satisfaction they give.
P.S. I'm sick for days after a binge but I just can't stop and I have even read the ingredients list and have seen first hand the ugly underbelly of sausage making on a large scale and if you grind it fine enough and add enough spices anything tastes ? good. Only occasionally do you find a piece of unchewable matter you can either spit it or swallow it !
shipwreck at 12:34PM on 07/14/09