Local South Bend meat shop not limiting meat purchases

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind.—There’s a possible meat shortage hitting a lot of the big corporate grocery stores. Multiple meatpacking plants across the country have been forced to shut down because of the coronavirus outbreaks and the thousands of sick workers.

While stores like Costco and Kroger are limiting the amount of meat customers can buy. And most Wendy’s restaurants across Michiana are running out of hamburgers.

Chris Jaworksi, the owner of Jaworksi’s Market in South Bend said that’s not the case with his local meat shop and that there’s no meat shortage, but rather a backup in the meat processing system nationwide.

Jaworksi said his store is fully stocked with chicken, beef, pork and more.  And he’s not limiting his customers on how much product they can take.

“I wouldn’t call it a shortage. If we have a shortage of anything it’s a shortage of manpower to get the product through the food chain," said Chris Jaworksi, the owner of Jaworksi’s Market. "The product is there. It’s not like years ago we had avian bird flu or swine flu where the product actually disappeare.,” 

There is so much unprocessed meat across the county,  that some farmers are having to destroy pigs they can’t ship to processing plants.