Supply chain problems impacting Thanksgiving dinner

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) - As supply chain issues continue to plague the country, some favorite Thanksgiving foods could be missing from the table.

“I’ve been in this business over 40 years myself, and at no time have I ever seen supply be as difficult as it’s been in the last 18 months,” said Tim Forth, president of Food Fair.

While a turkey shortage is prevalent at some stores, Forth says Food Fair still has many in stock, as they ordered their turkeys back in May.

“We bought slightly more than we bought in 2020 and if the supply holds out in some of our competitors we think we’re going to be OK,” Forth said.

Forth says overall the shelves are stocked, but people need to shop now, as there are some things missing such as cranberry jelly, turkey broth, and some frozen pies.

“We are cautiously optimistic that we’re going to be in good shape. There will be some shortages in things like jelly cranberry sauce and a few things like that but for the most part, there will be a workaround for just about anything anyone would want for their thanksgiving meal,” Forth said.

Pat Shepard finished up her Thanksgiving shopping Wednesday but bought her turkey weeks ago.

“I usually buy fresh, but this time I bought frozen because I was afraid I wouldn’t get one,” she said. “But they have plenty of turkeys. I don’t know what the panic was.”

Vickie Simmons-Delp was also getting a jump on her shopping, as she was worried she wouldn’t find what she needed as she says other family members have been struggling at other stores.

“There’s a lot of things they haven’t been able to find,” she said. “I’m still a little anxious because there have been times where you couldn’t find things.”

While the shelves are staying stocked at Food Fair, shoppers say prices are going up.

“Much more expensive than last year. Something I looked at yesterday and then looked at today and it had already gone up five cents,” Shepard said.

Forth says the average food bill has gone up about 6% since the start of the pandemic.

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