The North Texas Food Bank won't face the same turkey shortages plaguing food pantries in West Texas.
As KOSA-TV reported this morning, the West Texas Food Bank is scrapping turkey distribution for the first time in a decade, citing the high cost of turkey meat. Inflation and a poor harvest of wheat -- which is what turkeys like to eat -- have driven up turkey prices to a budget-breaking $1 a pound.
But North Texas Food Bank spokesperson Kristin Bowman says the Dallas-based organization shields itself from price fluctuations by locking in its turkey order months before Thanksgiving. The food bank will distribute 20,000 turkeys this year.
Over in Odessa, the West Texas Food Bank's downgrading its bird giveaway, distributing holiday chickens.
"We have to look at the silver lining that there is food available, we have chicken right now," West Texas Food Bank board president Wade Kuehler told the CBS affiliate. "So it's not a matter of people going to go hungry as a result of this, they're just not going to be able to have that traditional bird."