This Mealtime Staple Is Disappearing from Restaurants Nationwide

There's a nationwide chicken shortage affecting restaurants across the U.S.

Thanks to yet another supply chain disruption, you may not be able to wing it the next time you sit down for a meal. Restaurants across the U.S. are reporting that they can't keep chicken products in stock thanks to a new surge in demand, meaning wings, breasts, and tenders temporarily go offline from some menus, Bloomberg News reports.

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A combination of COVID and severe storms has disrupted chicken supplies.

Industry experts point out that COVID-19 deeply affected production capabilities, as poultry processing plants were closed due to labor shortages and safety concerns during the pandemic. The issues were then made worse by severe weather in major poultry-producing states that shuttered farms and disrupted the supply chain even further.

"Chicken producers are doing everything they can to overcome the devastating impact of Mother Nature, when she inflicted the once-in-a-lifetime winter storm on Texas and nearby states—major chicken-producing regions," Tom Super, spokesman for the National Chicken Council, told Delmarva Now, stopping short of calling it an outright shortage. "It will take time and effort to eventually replace the impacted hatchery supply flocks in that region." And for more on major food changes, This One Thing Is Disappearing From Walmarts Nationwide.

Major fast-food chains have already felt the supply chain disruption.

As a result, major national chains have felt the pinch when it comes to their menus. In response to a customer's complaint that North Carolina-based fried chicken chain Bojangles had run out of tenders, the company tweeted: "we're experiencing a system-wide shortage :( But they will be back soon!"

Other industry experts point out the sudden boom in popularity of fried chicken sandwiches at fast-food chains in the past two years has put added strain on supplies—with chicken-focused chains such as Chick-fil-A and KFC experiencing a surge in sales even through the pandemic. During a recent earnings call, Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s USA, reported that the chain's chicken products are selling "beyond expectations."

“Demand for the new sandwich has been so strong that, coupled with general tightening in domestic chicken supply, our main challenge has been keeping up with that demand,” David Gibbs, CEO of KFC parent company Yum! Brands Inc., said recently in a conference call, according to Bloomberg News.

Smaller restaurants are also being affected by chicken shortages.

But it's not just the big players who are suffering from the shortage. Small businesses also report that higher chicken prices are affecting their bottom line and that their suppliers can't meet demand. "We're getting about two-thirds of what we'd typically order and there's some days our food reps will call us and they say, 'We might not be able to get you anything,'" Jeff Feather, manager of Duff's Famous Wings in Buffalo, New York, told CBS Newspath correspondent Michael George.

Fortunately, it may not be long before poultry supplies hatch anew. "As chicken production begins to resume back to a more normal pace of output in the coming months, and there is a better supply/demand ratio, the market tightness should ease," Super predicted. And for more items that might go missing from your refrigerator, These 4 Beloved Foods Are Disappearing From Grocery Shelves, Experts Warn.