How supply, labor shortages will affect Thanksgiving
Local
Staples can be difficult to get and it will cost more to put them on your table.
As Thanksgiving approaches in the midst of supply and labor shortages, it’s going to cost more to put the holiday party on the table, and everyone from pantries to upscale restaurants is preparing to take up the challenge.
Cheryl Schondek, senior vice president of operations and food supply for Greater Boston Food Bank, said the agency experiences delivery delays from suppliers like so many others. Yet it has not seen any long-term food shortage.
In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, the nonprofit distributes hundreds of thousands of complete holiday meals.
“Unfortunately, we pay higher prices for staples for holiday meals than last year,” Schondek said.
Turkey prices have risen 10 percent from last year, squash has risen 17 percent and the price of sweet potatoes has risen by 28 percent, she added.
The Food Bank is also facing the challenge of delivery delays. The traditional 1-7 day delivery time is no longer, Schondek added. “We get products, but the non-perishable goods take up to 2-3 weeks longer to arrive at our facility.”
Lack of supply and cost increases have led the food bank to get creative, Schondek said, making adjustments they have made since the pandemic began.
“We’ve had to turn around,” she said. “I have to find a way to keep that pipeline full.”
The agency has expanded its supplier base to ensure it can support its clients and find an alternative when they encounter shortages. For example, Schondek may not know what type of citrus is coming, but she knows some type of fruit will be delivered, she said.
“If I can not find enough butternut squash, I switch to acorns,” Schondek added.
The food bank started thinking about Thanksgiving meals last spring, she said, and started making reservations at vendors and wholesalers months earlier than they have done in the past.
Restaurants across the region also began planning the holiday earlier this year, as Thanksgiving has become a popular day to visit a restaurant on.
Steve DiFilippo, the chef / owner of Davios northern Italian steakhouse, said the restaurant group will again offer a traditional Thanksgiving menu at their 10 locations. Customers can choose to dine in or order the meal to-go. For an additional price, guests can add a turkey sandwich for the next day to their order, complete with fillings, cranberry sauce and gravy.
“It’s my favorite thing,” DiFillippo said. “When you go out to eat, you miss the sandwich the next day.”
While skeptics questioned the decision that the steakhouse should serve Thanksgiving dinner, DiFillippo said the day has become one of their busiest.
The restaurant group uses all-natural turkeys from Vermont that are tender and juicy, he said. They placed their order in September.
“We order thousands,” DiFilippo said. “I can not go to Vermont; I took all the turkeys.”
The largest of their restaurants can serve over 1,000 guests, and the smaller location in Lynnfield can serve around 700, he added.
“In the last 10 [years], it just went off the charts, ”he said.
While the orders for supplies came early, DiFilippo said they pay about 25 percent more in costs than last year.
“It’s not just the turkey, it’s everything else,” he said.
Bambara kitchen and bar Chef Adam Resnick said the Cambridge eatery is experiencing price increases across the board as they prepare their classic Thanksgiving dinner menu. To offset the increase, the restaurant had to raise their prices a bit, Resnick said, while staying at a reasonable level.
The restaurant will still donate a portion of its proceeds from the day to No Kid Hungry charity.
This year, customers can either dine in or take a meal set home to enjoy. Last year, Bambara only offered take-home kits.
“We are excited to bring people back to Thanksgiving this year,” he said.
Jim Rischer, owner of Raymond’s Turkey Farm in Methuen, said the business is strong and he expects to sell most of the birds they have. The all-natural gourmet turkeys sell for $ 4.29 per pound, up from $ 4.09 per pound last year.
“Our prices have increased by 20 øre. It should probably have been 50,” said Rischer.
His costs have risen in several areas, including packaging and feed, he said. The farm is also trying to fill some staff positions.
But the demand for their products is great.
“We sell homemade turkey cakes and we sell out every day at 10am,” he added. “We can not keep up.”
Last Thanksgiving, when people stayed home and did not gather with the family, turkey pots were a popular choice as large birds were not needed. Customers found that they are an easy alternative to a whole bird.
While Raymond’s is still accepting some orders, Bob’s Turkey Farm in Lancaster was already sold out by holiday turkeys last week.
“Demand was very high,” Jenn Brezniak said. Orders began pouring in in late September. “We are almost out of frozen too, which is unheard of.”
Brezniak said the small farm has encountered the same challenges that plague all turkey farmers in the area – primarily a huge struggle to find help.
They have also had trouble getting certain ingredients for their homemade fillings and even lids for their turkey pie containers.
“It’s been very random things,” she said.
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