Many of us are having small Thanksgiving gatherings. Good luck finding a small turkey

It may feel as though few things in 2020 have been untouched by the coronavirus pandemic, and Thanksgiving is no different.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have cautioned against holiday gatherings with people outside your household, meaning that many are finding themselves planning smaller Thanksgiving celebrations.

“Normally, we have 8-10 [people] and everyone hugging and kissing; drinking wine and the whole works, but I felt we should tone it down this year,” Victor Dillard of California told KOVR.

Chris Pyne and her husband, Roger, typically celebrate Thanksgiving with their kids and grandchildren in Utah, but they have decided to do things differently this year, she told KSL. Roger is a Type 1 diabetic who also has stage 4 kidney failure.

“My loved ones’ health is more important to me than sitting down to dinner with my family this year, definitely,” she said, according to KSL. “I know it’s Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving. I love having my family over, but it’s just one day of the year and we’ll survive.”

The expected shift toward smaller gatherings is impacting a vital piece of the Thanksgiving meal — turkeys.

This year, people want smaller birds because they’re having smaller get-togethers, experts say.

Demand for small turkeys is up

The average Thanksgiving turkey is around 15 pounds, according to the University of Illinois, but farms and supermarkets are making sure they have plenty of smaller birds to accommodate more intimate gatherings.

Turkey growth is predetermined by a number of factors including diet and genetics, so some farmers have resorted to slaughtering birds early to ensure they stay small, McClatchy News reported.

“In anticipation of smaller gatherings, we’re hitting our twelve block pretty hard,” Tom Otto, owner of Otto’s Turkey Farm in Ohio told WOOD.

He sells turkeys in three weights: 20-pound, 15-16-pound and 12-pound, according to the outlet. He thinks the 12-pound birds will be the first to go.

Ehran Ostrreicher, owner of Homestead Meats in Illinois, said he noticed customers were ordering smaller briskets for Rosh Hashanah and Easter, so he had a feeling the trend would extend to Thanksgiving turkeys, Today reported. He made plans to offer smaller turkeys and cuts.

Jered Standing, who owns Standing’s Butchery in California, said the preference for smaller turkeys is overwhelming, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“Nine out of 10 people want the small birds,” he told the newspaper. “I tried to get more — people are calling every day. They’re just not available.”

While larger turkeys are still available, few people are buying them, Yasser Elhawary of LA Fresh Poultry told the Times.

“We’re left with larger sizes,” he said. “A lot of people aren’t buying them because they’re not small enough. I try to tell them you can’t go wrong with leftovers — you can always make turkey breast sandwiches.”

How retailers prepared

National retailers say they’ve taken precautions to ensure they have a variety of turkey cuts and sizes available.

To accommodate smaller gatherings, Walmart said it increased its stock of boneless and bone-in turkey breasts by up to 30% across the U.S., according to the Detroit Free Press.

After Kroger’s research suggested that 43% of its shoppers would be celebrating with only their household, the grocery chain said it purchased additional turkeys in myriad sizes, the newspaper reported.

Kroger said it also expects to see an uptick in sales of other meats.

“We anticipate an increase in demand for other proteins like ham, beef, pork roast and seafood as first-time holiday cooks are presented with the opportunity to create new meal traditions,” a Kroger spokesperson told Today.

Meijer said it’s planning for its typical assortment of turkeys, but the supermarket chain expects shoppers to buy more turkey breasts, the Free Press reported.

For some retailers, getting smaller birds isn’t an option.

“It’s not an industry in which you can quickly pivot,” Minnesota turkey grower John Peterson said, according to The New York Times. “For us to have any meaningful impact on changing anything for Thanksgiving, those decisions had to be made in March or April.”

Michigan grocery chain Busch’s Fresh Food Markets placed its Thanksgiving turkey order in January before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., the Free Press reported. It expects to be in short supply of small turkeys.

This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 11:55 AM with the headline "Many of us are having small Thanksgiving gatherings. Good luck finding a small turkey."