Reuters
Meat may be the next grocery staple to see a shortage.
- The US will likely see a shortage of meat in grocery stores soon.
- Meat processing plants have been forced to close unexpectedly as workers contract COVID-19.
- Even though grocery store meat shelves may become sparse, there will still be plenty of ways to get large quantities of high-quality meats.
- Restaurant suppliers, local farms, rancher coalitions, and direct-to-consumer meat websites are less likely to be affected by supply chain issues than conventional grocery store meat brands.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The coronavirus pandemic has made it difficult to acquire many grocery basics, and meat might be next on the chopping block.
Despite early assurances that the food supply chain would not be disrupted, slaughterhouses and meat processing plants are being forced to close due to workers being diagnosed with COVID-19. This means that grocery stores' meat cases aren't likely to stay fully stocked in the near future.
That being said, there are plenty of ways consumers can still buy meat. Independent farmers and ranchers who process their own meat will likely be less affected by pandemic-related shutdowns. This meat is typically both of higher quality and more expensive than most meat sold in your average grocery stores.
Unfortunately, that means that buying from these sources won't be feasible for everyone. However, a good bargain can still be found if you look hard enough. And splitting the cost of large orders with friends or neighbors is a good way to take advantage of cheap bulk offers.
If your grocery store runs out of meat, check out these options to see one of them meets your needs.
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