Is there a parsley shortage???

I have not tried to purchase parsley so I do not know if it is just in New Jersey or if it has hit other places as well. Have you tried looking in the fresh vegetable section? At Meijers they do have fresh parsley in the refrigerated section, at least here in MI. Have you thought of growing your own herb garden? Some people are wonderful at growing herbs and such indoors. I had to put mine outside so I have to wait until it warms up before I can snip my parsley. Ah, but it will take awhile to grow it and you probably don't want to wait that long to try your recipe. Also you might be able to find some on Ebay or some other online shop. Again, it will take a few days to get. I do hope you find your parsley soon!

Looks like you are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unless, maybe, there is a gang of parsley thieves in your area. Can you smoke parsley?

I did a quick search on the internet and I did not see anything about their being a shortage on parsley. I also have not heard anything, but it is kind of odd that you have been to three different stores and have not been able to find any. Sometimes you can find spices at the Dollar store that you can't find at regular stores, you might try there. If you can't find dried why not purchase some fresh parsley and dry it yourself, and store it in a proper container.