The Wings You Love Most Are in a Limited Supply
It is an ordinary Wednesday night out with friends, and there is nothing more satisfying than heading to our local watering hole that serves a weekly special on hump days. So excited to guzzle down a cold pint of suds with a dozen of our favorite tangy and spicy-tasting appetizers, we joyfully trot over to our table.
As the waiter brings over four ales, I cast my eyes over the happy hour menu to find a shocking discovery. Puzzled by this finding, my friend grabs the attention of our waiter and questions this new change to the tavern’s food menu. Without delay, our waiter informs us that the item in which we have come to relish is no longer available following a tight supply shortage. Unfortunately, the item discontinued was our beloved chicken wings.
With shortages from lumber to used cars to PS5s, chicken wings find themselves stuck in a similar situation. Being the nation’s #1 quarantine protein, according to the National Chicken Council, this shortage in chicken wings has caused the price of boneless chicken breasts to rise 236% since last Fall — while tenders are increasing by 77%.
Therefore, demand for this American classic is starting to skyrocket the price of a dozen of these finger-licking appetizers.
“We’re experiencing a system-wide shortage :( But they will be back soon!”
Chicken Wings in High Demand While Supply is Limited
For fear that this chicken shortage may affect the sales and revenue of poultry farmers, many poultry producers are scrambling to solve this wing deficiency throughout the entire United States.
For example, one Fortune 1000 company, Sanderson Farms, based in Mississippi, acknowledges this growing concern of not supplying enough chicken to meet retailers’ demands. Chairman and CEO Joe F. Sanderson of Sanderson Farms claims that “…we cannot supply enough wings to anybody, at retail or at foodservice.”
Typically, the demand for chicken wings fluctuates throughout the year, with the rise of prices dependent upon what sporting event is airing on television — such as the American tradition of Super Bowl Sunday.
“Propping up a seat at the bar we devour chicken wings like life does dreams”
— David Louden
However, as Tom Super of the National Chicken Council says in response to claims of there being a total deficit of chicken wings, “…[there is] a very tight supply but short of a shortage.”
In addition to this tight supply, severe weather conditions and rolling blackouts in Texas following Storm Uni in February — have inflicted a substantial amount of damage to the nation’s supply of chicken. Following these harsh weather conditions, Storm Uni decimated millions of chickens in the month of America’s treasured holiday for sports fans — Super Bowl Sunday.
At the same time, the National Chicken Council estimated around 1.42 billion chicken wings were devoured by Americans while watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers destroy Patrick Mahomes’s Kansas City Chiefs.
New Labor Shortages Diminishes Poultry Production
Although the supply may not quite amount to a shortage, there appears to be a shortcoming of laborers to process this increasing demand for chicken since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Staffing shortages at chicken farms, such as ranches in Delaware and Maryland, caused these poultry producers to exterminate nearly 2 million chickens. Moreover, this results from companies being unable to control the population size of hens ready to harvest without the hands of workers.
With regard to labor shortages, poultry production based in Georgia, where the rough majority of chicken breeding occurs, is having trouble meeting the minimum requirement of chicken workers.
For instance, as Americans’ appetite for chicken increases, companies like Georgia-based poultry producer Wayne Farms fall short of acquiring their desired level of workers. That is to say that after opening up 200 positions to work for Wayne Farms, this chicken company received only five eager applicants.
“…we cannot supply enough wings to anybody, at retail or at foodservice.”
— Joe Sanderson, CEO of Sanderson Farms
With nearly 10 million unemployed Americans searching for work in this post-pandemic world, job openings are at the highest they have ever been in the United States — roughly estimated around 9.2 million jobs.
Yet, despite this, many Americans are still skeptical of returning to work due to pandemic-related health concerns and unemployment checks — paying more to sit at home than to process chicken. As a result, the reopening of our economy continues, leaving a handful of workers, roughly 4 million, vacating their jobs while being in no rush to getting back to the way things were pre-pandemic.
Unusual Prices for Chicken Wings Begin to Skyrocket
Following shortages of staff and wings, prices are beginning to skyrocket for your standard set of appetizers. But, more importantly, small businesses like your local watering hole are having difficulties keeping up with the increasing demand and elevating prices of chicken wings.
In contrast, larger companies can maintain more stable prices when purchasing wholesale chicken wings at this rising rate.
Furthermore, in April 2020, the cost of chicken averaged around $2.80 per pound, while, as of May 2021, this expense has risen to $5.22 per pound — nearly an increase of 87% from the spring before.
Sooner or later, these independent bars/restaurants may have to start charging chicken wings at a set market price similar to the alternating cost of Alaskan Snow Crab. Is this what we must succumb to for us to get our wing fix?
These small businesses have two choices; raise the cost of chicken wings or maintain the original price of wings while losing out on profit. Another option, which my local tavern adopted, is completely removing these leathery fried delicacies from their menu and canceling Wing Wednesday altogether.
“…[there is] a very tight supply but short of a shortage.”
— Tom Super, Spokesman of the National Chicken Council
While chicken wing prices fluctuate, other alternatives to these mouth-watering appetizers are slowly beginning to appear. For instance, chicken thighs, as opposed to the wings, are substantially cheaper to purchase. In addition, the dark, juicy meat contained in the thighs of the chicken allows for the similar satisfaction of enjoying your beloved chicken wings without having to compete with the increasing demand and cost.
By the same token, Wingstop, in order to combat wing shortages and negative sales, has introduced this thigh alternative into their business model. In connection with this new thigh fad, Wingstop CEO Charlie Morrison offers a new temporarily online store identified as “Thighstop.” With this in mind, Morrison acknowledges the relatively low costs for chicken thighs and claims that these thighs “…eat like a wing, but with more meat.”
All in all, while wings continue to be sparse throughout the nation, many of us may continue to experience this increasing rate of chicken wing prices at the cost of our cravings.
So, although we may be in a tight supply of these boney and delicate appetizers, we must endure this deficiency of our beloved wings and consider trying out restaurants or cafes that rely on thighs as a substitute. At the same time, we must cross our fingers in the hopes that our local watering holes do not discontinue their weekly hump day wing specials.
