HONOLULU -- Some places across the country are bracing for a possible shortage of pumpkins.

Bad weather spoiled crops in parts of the Midwest and East Coast.

KITV's Catherine Cruz reported that local residents can find gourds at Foodland stores.

The chain said it received its first shipment of mainland pumpkins this week, as did Sam's Club, but most other stores said they are still waiting for their deliveries.

"I went to Wal-Mart yesterday, and they didn't have any. In fact, this is the first place I've seen with any pumpkins," resident Tyrone Stewart said.

Aloun Farms supplies about 70 percent of Hawaii's pumpkin needs, but it said its harvesting is delayed this year and won't really get going until after Monday.

The company's annual pumpkin patch festival is normally held the last two weekends this month.

Until then, workers will be busy harvesting the fruits of their labor to fill store orders.

Pumpkin buyers can probably start seeing them on store shelves after next week, but they may not want to wait too long to pick a pumpkin.

Pumpkin farmers pointed to the high fuel costs, which have doubled over last year and are adding to the transportation woes of getting the product to market.

It's unclear how the regional pumpkin squeeze will affect Hawaii supplies.

At Foodland, the pretty pumpkins displays are catching eyes.

"These are pretty nice, the smaller ones. They are cute, yeah, and he enjoys it, but I think we will probably get a bigger size," resident Nancy Partika said.

No one is sure how much customers will cut back given the soaring costs and shrinking budgets.