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Wings are off the menu at Michigan BBQ joints after prices increase nationally 95% in one year
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Chicken wings are temporarily off the menu at both Lansing-area locations of Saddleback BBQ due to rising food costs.
(Photo provided by Saddleback BBQ)
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Food price inflation is pecking away at chicken wing deals, leaving some Michigan barbecue restaurants without a top-selling menu item.
Across the country, wholesale prices for wings have increased 94.72% year-to-date, according to United States Department of Agriculture data from April.
Data for poultry prices by the 100 pounds shows this past year’s increase is even steeper than comparing to pre-pandemic levels. The increase from April 2019 to 2021 is 62.27%.
Isaac Olvera, lead food and agricultural economist at ArrowStream
THE ANSWER
While yes, chicken production has been down to start 2021, chicken producers point to increased production over the last several weeks as evidence that calling it a “shortage” is an exaggeration and that supply can eventually catch up to demand.
WHAT WE FOUND
Quarterly earnings calls from Yum Brands, owners of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Wingstop first raised the alarms when their CEOs claimed they were running into issues keeping up with demand.
“As we ve entered Q2, 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,” said Yum Brands CEO David Gibbs of KFC.