The first toilet paper could not be found. Neither bleaching cloths nor video game systems could bleach. Then restaurants couldn’t get enough ketchup packages to meet demand.
The recent shortage could make your weekly wing night look a little different.
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Restaurants across the country report a shortage of chicken wings – especially those with bones.
“The industry is facing some supply problems,” US Foods spokeswoman Sara Matheu told The Associated Press. “Meat processors have a hard time keeping pace with increased demand due to a variety of challenges.”
If they can’t get the traditional boned wing, some restaurants, like J&K Style Grill in Norfolk, Virginia, may start serving boneless chicken, which is marketed as “boneless wings,” made from breast meat, the AP reported.
Kelvin Dooley, the owner of the restaurant, told the AP he could make up the difference by running a different business, which would limit the number of purchases that could be made.
Another option is to swap fresh wings for frozen products.
Restaurants dependent on wings in Texas and Ohio reported having the same supply problems.
The price of wings can be a roller coaster ride all year round, reaching high prices around the Super Bowl, but market analysts said prices haven’t fallen like they did after the big game, supply wasn’t there to keep up with demand .
“If you think about it, restaurants like wing joints and pizzerias were built around takeout and delivery so they didn’t have to change their business model so much during the pandemic,” Tom Super of the National Chicken Council told the AP. “Wings travel well and hold up under delivery conditions. They also respond to consumer desire for convenience foods during the pandemic. “
However, Super said he wouldn’t call it a shortage just yet, but said supplies were “scarce”.
Chicken producers are doing everything they can to overcome the devastating effects of Mother Nature when she inflicted the one-time winter storm on Texas and nearby states – the major chicken producing regions. It will take time and effort to replace the affected brood populations in the area, ”Short told the AP.
 
