HUTCHINSON, Kan. — With the supply chain for meat products being roughed up by the pandemic, many are turning away from grocery stores and turning to local processors. Yoder Meats is one of them.
“Our retail business has been very busy, we’re seeing lots of new customers,” Yoder Meats Owner Chad Bontrager said. “People are coming in that are attracted by just the availability of meat that maybe they aren’t able to find in other places.”
Bontrager says more people are also looking at bulk purchasing to make sure they have an adequate supply down the road. While the company has seen an increase in consumer purchases, it has also experienced a slowdown in some areas, especially on the commercial side.
“Our wholesale accounts are primarily restaurants and so that has been very slow,” Bontrager said. “But we are starting to see that come back a little bit just this week. Some orders from those customers just kind of exploring and testing the waters to see how many customers they’re going to get into their restaurants and then how much product they might need from us.”
Bontrager says one area that they have been the busiest is in the animal processing sector with booking already extending into next year.
“We’re currently booking February moving into March in that part of the business, which is unheard of,” Bontrager said. “Normally as our busiest point, maybe we’re booking two months ahead, never nine or 10 months.”
For those who have never gone the route of a large meat purchase such as a bundle, Bontrager has some advice.
“We sell them all frozen, which is going to be perfect for the longer-term storage,” Bontrager said. “I wouldn’t hesitate to eat beef that has been frozen for up to a year and I wouldn’t hesitate to eat pork or chicken that’s been frozen up to six months.”
Bontrager says the meat will keep longer than that, but the quality might not be as good. He also noted that, if this is your first bundle meat purchase, you make sure you have plenty of freezer space.
Most meat bundles are packaged to fit for one meal so little goes to waste.