A slowdown in the supply chain is causing food prices to spike ahead of Thanksgiving.
WMFE reports local food banks that distribute holiday meals to struggling local families are having to get a little creative this year.
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A pileup at ports and a shortage of workers, including truck drivers, means traditional Thanksgiving foods will be more expensive this year and some might be in short supply.
Second Harvest Food Bank Chief Development Officer Greg Higgerson says they’ll still give out 6.5 million meals during the month of November. But what’s inside food boxes might look different.
“What might be a little bit different this year is the availability of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner items you know the turkeys and yams and other things that go along with that.”
Volunteer Coordinator Lynnea Crawford at United Way says that’s why they’re already had to rethink the dessert they’ll pass out.
“And so we actually had to adjust our dessert that’s included in our meal kit to be an apple crumble mix instead of our traditional apple pie or pumpkin pie mixture.”
Across town at Salvation Army Orlando, Captain Ken Chapman says he isn't taking any chances and just put in orders with their suppliers for Christmas just in case.
“And they are setting some supplies aside for us that will be able to help us through what we deem to be a crisis.”
While some of the traditional items might be in short supply, UCF business professor Muge Yayla Kullu says you shouldn’t panic.
“There will be food. There will be a lot of food on the table but you know maybe it may not be the same brand that we use all the time. You may need to switch the brands.”
Most experts predict the national supply chain won’t right itself again until 2022.
