Nebraska Grocers See Meat Shortages as COVID-19 Impacts Packing Plants

As meat packing plants across the state and nation fight COVID-19 outbreaks, the country’s meat supply is impacted.

Three meat packing plants in Nebraska announced temporary closures amid outbreaks of the virus.

HyVee announced it will limit customers to four packages of fresh meat, and other grocery stores are facing similar decisions.

David McKinney is grocery manager at McKinney’s Food Center in Gretna. He says beef is hard to get, and the store only received about 70% of what they ordered in a recent shipment.

He hasn’t seen changes in availability of poultry or pork. He says processed meats, including lunch meat, are harder to come by then fresh cuts.

People are encouraged to wear masks while grocery shopping, and McKinney says more people are taking that advice.

"Last week I would have told you about 50/50, and I’ve noticed today, I bet we’re about 75% or better that are coming in with masks,” McKinney said. “I don’t know what to attribute that to."

McKinney says other products that are difficult to stock include yeast, cleaning supplies, and some soup products. He says toilet paper and hand sanitizer are coming back into stock.

Daily News Update, May 5