Fresh ground beef is a hot commodity and fast food chain Wendy's is feeling the brut of it. A few weeks ago Tyson Foods warned Americans that the "food supply chain is breaking" as pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close due to coronavirus outbreaks in the plants themselves. Because of this, the United States is facing a meat shortage that could last months. Because of this, Wendy's has decided to remove burgers from their menus at select locations.
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Wendy's Burgers Removed From Select Locations
Wendy's really stopped selling burgers. Guess I'll start back trying to lose weight
— Ty (@tydeantravels) May 5, 2020
According to reports on Twitter, there have been a number of beef shortages at Wendy's restaurants in California, South Carolina, Detroit, Kentucky, New York, and New Jersey. Unlike McDonald's and Burger King, Wendy's locations only use fresh meat, which is why the chain seems to be the only one struggling with the short supply.
Wendy's acknowledged the disruption in a statement, citing "production challenges." The production challenges in question are processing plants closing or slowing down production because of the covid-19 outbreak. According to the USDA's weekly report from April 27, beef production was down nearly 25% year-over-year, while and pork production was down 15%. President Trump signed an executive order to keep meat processing plants open, however, workers are still getting sick. At least 20 meatpackers have already died from COVID-19, and more than 5,000 have been hospitalized or are showing symptoms, according to labor union United Food and Commercial Workers.
"As you've likely heard, beef suppliers across North America are currently facing production challenges," the statement said. "Because of this, some of our menu items may be in short supply from time to time at some restaurants in this current environment. We continue to supply hamburgers to all of our restaurants, with deliveries two or three times a week. We're working diligently to minimize the impact to our customers and restaurants, and continue to work with our supplier partners to monitor this closely."
Thankfully Wendy's has a ton of delicious beef-less options to enjoy. Grab a frosty and a spicy chicken nuggets meal and you won't be missing your baconator too much.
Or better yet, make your own Baconator at home using this burger press:
1. Weston Burger Hamburger Press
Form a perfect thick patty or concoct a tasty stuffed burger with this presser.
And don't forget the frosty! All you need for this recipe is sweetened condensed milk, whipped topping, and chocolate milk.
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What's an at-home Wendy's without the red-haired pigtails?
Meat Shortage Hits the US
At Costco this morning, chicken is limited one per membership! Why are the farmers being cut back 15%? #ontariochicken #maplelodgefarms pic.twitter.com/Cm5cMK6DKm
— Ray VanDerMolen (@rayvmolen) May 1, 2020
Stores like Costco and Kroger have started to limit the number of meat products customers can buy. According to CNN Business, Costco is limiting customers to three items of beef, pork, and poultry products.
It looks like it's time to start cooking more vegetarian dishes.
