The reason that the recent news of shortages of Eggo waffles and, more critically for seasonal celebrators, Nestlé’s Libby’s brand canned pumpkin pie filling, has garnered a significant (some might say outsized) amount of media ink and airplay surely has to do with the symbolic effect on many consumers. Already battered by a recession that’s taking its sweet time in lifting, they’re now facing the absence of some of their favorite comfort foods, and during the holidays, too. No one’s actually going to go hungry because of these shortfalls, but in the current atmosphere of perceived deprivation, that hardly matters.

Of course, these shortages, however inconvenient for shoppers, couldn’t be helped: Flood damage at Kellogg’s Atlanta bakery, along with ongoing equipment updates and repairs, caused the supply constraints of Eggo Waffles, while a rainy fall contributed to already disappointing pumpkin crops — a particularly devastating blow for Nestlé, which controls about 85 percent of the canned pumpkin supply. Kellogg is working diligently to regain full distribution of Eggo items by the middle of 2010, and Nestlé has said that it expects the pumpkin situation to improve in August, when the 2010 harvest gets underway.

Although the companies’ responses to the respective shortages were direct and offered timelines for when sufficient supplies would become available, many consumers are destined either to go without these favored products for a time or be tempted to hoard items — the second a particularly unattractive option during what should be the season of giving.

What we can take away from this is that holiday dinners and breakfasts — any meal really — are more than just the foods we eat, but also, and much more importantly, the people in whose company we eat and the spirit in which we do so. Those of us who have loved ones to gather around a table with any time of the year can be truly thankful.