At a time when its shoppers are becoming “scared and a little panicky,” about supply chain issues leading up to the holiday season, specialty grocer Stew Leonard’s sent an email detailing the following myths of Thanksgiving 2021, to its shoppers.
1. There wont be a turkey on my Thanksgiving table.
The media is reporting shortages and here at Stew’s, we have experienced a few hiccups. For example, our turkey order was cut 30 percent from our large turkey grower in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia. But we called our family-owned farmer in Lehigh Valley Pennsylvania, and they said that he would supply us with extra turkeys. He grows his own corn, and therefore wasn’t affected by the increase in corn prices, and our transportation costs are lower from Pennsylvania. We have actually lowered our Free-Range turkey price from $2.99/lb. to $2.69/lb. We did have to raise our Shenandoah turkey from $1.69/lb. to $2.19/lb. But, let me remind you that you’ve been happily paying $8.99 for Boar’s Head Oven Gold Turkey all year.
2. It's going to be a really expensive Thanksgiving.
5-10 Percent more than last year. Yes, prices have gone up. Our farmers are not immune to the increase in fuel prices for their tractors and feed. Every one of our suppliers who I’ve spoken to has been affected by disruptions in the supply chain, increased fuel and labor costs (look how Amazon is advertising $15 hour everywhere), and corn and soy prices have jumped. But remember, Thanksgiving is the least expensive holiday meal of the year. Turkey in the $2/lb. range is the lowest priced protein on the market. There are a lot of products where we have held the price, and milk, eggs, butter, ground beef, and chicken have actually dropped in price or stayed the same.
3. I won't be able to buy everything for my table. There are reports of pie shortages, potato and yam shortages, cranberry sauce runouts, stuffing, etc. No industry is immune from the “perfect storm” that is brewing between supply chain problems, labor shortages, etc. You might have to bob and weave a bit this Thanksgiving, so my advice is to shop early to make sure you’ll have everything you need for your celebration.
4. Shelves will be empty.
One research firm reported that last year supply was 16 percent below demand and this year it’s 13 percent. We’re seeing some items that are hard to get. You may have a hard time finding Bounty paper towels, but we’ll have Scott’s.
Related: Record Number of Americans to Host Thanksgiving; IRI: Consumers Shopping Ahead for Thanksgiving Staples.
Image: Stew Leonard's