Nearly 1,000 People Line Up In Davidsonville For Boxes Of Chicken

DAVIDSONVILLE, MD — With consumers concerned about meat shortages, an Anne Arundel County business decided to help out and ended up providing hundreds upon hundreds of families with almost 30,000 pounds of poultry in just a few hours May 2. The staff at Homestead Gardens teamed up with Perdue Chicken and close to 1,000 vehicles lined up outside the business to receive their box of food.

Homestead Gardens President Brian Riddle told Patch it's the first time the business has hosted such an endeavor. The chicken was sold out the day prior through an online pre-sale. So many people tried to nab a box of chicken through this initiative that the website initially crashed.

"We were not surprised but did learn about some limitations that occurred with our technology and managing excessive high demand. I think we will be much more prepared to accommodate this type of event in the future. Our team did an excellent job fulfilling over 1,000 orders," said Riddle.

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The overall goal of Homestead Garden's project was to support the poultry industry, producers and customers struggling to find an affordable supply of meat in the stores.

"Homestead Gardens contacted Perdue after learning about the success at other locations. We have contacts within the horticulture community that helped reach the decision-makers at Perdue," said Riddle. "It was a great opportunity to help our community with supplying product in huge demand and we have a facility that is well equipped for these types of events. We learned a few areas for improvement if we are able to do this again but overall the sale was very successful and the community in large was very appreciative of the sale."

Due to the coronavirus, the food supply chain has been disrupted. Riddle said it's complex, but the issues stem back to the earliest stage of poultry production clear through to the product's final destination.

"Perdue has been doing an excellent job to manage these variables and trying to improve production everyday where its needed. Unfortunately like all food products that are natural, it takes time to produce the finished product and the poultry industry will continue to struggle with changes for the foreseeable future. I have heard from hundreds of local citizens that have experienced numerous shortages and this is a key area. Poultry is a huge protein source for most households and having such a large amount of that food industry here in Maryland, it just makes sense," Riddle told Patch.

To make sure social distancing rules were followed, all customers stayed in their vehicles as Homestead Gardens staff delivered the boxes of chicken to them. Employees also wore gloves and face masks.

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