U.S. chicken shortage due to pandemic and fast food demand - Entrepreneur Generations

It's getting harder to find chicken in grocery stores and restaurants these days. That's because pandemic supply-chain problems and a nationwide craze for fast-food fried chicken have caused a nationwide shortage.

"Chicken has for years been the most popular meat in the United States and experts and analysts have cited several reasons for the current deficit," Reis Thebault reports for The Washington Post. "Some are related to the coronavirus — pandemic-spurred disruptions in the market and supply chain and an increased demand for a comfort food that is takeout- or delivery-friendly. Others, industry watchers say, include increased competition, volatile feed prices and even the deadly winter storms that swept over the South in February, halting the work of chicken processors."

Fast-food trends are also partly responsible for the shortage. "The Washington Post dubbed 2019 the Year of the Chicken Sandwich — and for good reason. Popeyes kicked things off that August, releasing a new chicken sandwich that quickly took over the Internet. Then the virality hit the streets, with eager customers queuing up for blocks to buy a sandwich. Just over two weeks after the new menu item dropped, Popeyes announced it had sold out," Thebault reports. "Even now, the craze persists, with Popeyes continuing to duke it out with Chick-fil-A for sandwich supremacy and KFC and McDonald’s entering the fray with new offerings."

from The Rural Blog https://ift.tt/33fYhgX U.S. chicken shortage due to pandemic and fast food demand - Entrepreneur Generations

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