As if buying groceries didn’t suck enough already in 2026. 

Food prices continue to climb (opens in new tab), grocery stores are threatening to close (or have already), and now Safeway is handing out paper bags without handles (opens in new tab). What is the world coming to?

In a city where shoppers regularly walk home carrying their groceries, the switch has infuriated Safeway customers, many of whom have resorted to bear-hugging the bags in a futile effort to shield them from the rain. Or, you know, just remember to bring your own bag.  

Safeway has blamed the issue on a global supply chain shortage, but competitors like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Lucky still have the easy-to-carry bags.

If that explanation doesn’t satisfy you as you wrestle your overpriced groceries to the car, read on.

Because I’m a damn thorough reporter, I called all 13 Safeway stores in San Francisco to see where bags with handles were still available. The grim news: just four of the city’s locations still have them, and employees say supplies are rapidly dwindling. Worst of all, there’s no guarantee the next shipment will include them.

Safeway clerks didn’t have many answers about the “why” behind the new bags. Most just said they use what gets shipped to them.

However, one employee shared that the bags sent to Safeway stores in San Francisco originate from the grocery chain’s warehouse in Tracy. Many calls to the facility’s receiving department went unanswered. 

I asked a customer service clerk to read me the logo on the back of one of the now-rare handled bags: “Duro.” Duro (opens in new tab) is a paper bag maker whose products, in many people’s experience, aren’t that “duro” at all (opens in new tab). It’s a subsidiary of Novolex (opens in new tab), a company which makes food, beverage, and specialty packaging. But Novolex ghosted me, too.

Finally, I got a hold of someone who could give me a handle on the industry. Nick Vyas, director of the Randall R. Kendrick Global Supply Chain Institute at the University of Southern California, said the reasons many shoppers can’t get their good old paper bag with handles come down to tariffs and California’s new plastic bag ban.

Distributors typically carry 60 to 90 days of backup supply, but the state’s plastic bag ban, which took effect in January, has driven a surge in demand for paper bags that suppliers can’t keep up with, Vyas said.

Meanwhile, the supply of wood pulp that goes into the bags has tightened amid tariffs imposed last year by President Donald Trump. Large paper bag producers have been reluctant to absorb the higher costs, leaving small- and mid-sized mills to eat the tariffs themselves. Some have already closed as a result, further constraining supply, Vyas said.

Handled bags are sturdier and use more wood pulp, so the squeeze has pushed stores toward the thinner, handleless version.

“It’s a perfect storm,” Vyas said.

Safeway Taraval St
730 Taraval St, San Francisco, CA 94116
(415) 665-4136

If you shop at the Taraval St. Safeway, you’re in luck. Two employees said they still have bags with handles, and one employee said the store got a shipment of bags with handles two weeks ago. Best of all, there’s roughly a month’s supply left, they said.

Safeway Monterey Blvd
625 Monterey Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94127
(415) 586-2421

The type of bag you get may be a roll of the dice, as this location was using the now-elusive handle-having bags and the loathed handleless bags. They switched to using bags without handles roughly a week ago, an employee said. Another worker said they have roughly 50 bags with handles left, which wouldn’t last long.

Safeway La Playa St
850 La Playa St, San Francisco, CA 94121
(415) 387-4664

This outpost received a shipment of bags with handles Sunday night, an employee said but couldn’t say how many were part of the delivery. 

Safeway 16th St
2300 16th St Unit 203, San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 575-1120

Employees said the paper bags with handles were being used at the checkout counters, but whether they’ll keep using them is out of their hands.

“I have them at the moment,” one employee said. “But I can’t guarantee we’ll have them in the next shipment.”