{"id":35114,"date":"2020-05-04T21:20:20","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T21:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/05\/04\/some-military-commissaries-limit-meat-purchases-as-possible-shortages-loom\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:47:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:47:53","slug":"some-military-commissaries-limit-meat-purchases-as-possible-shortages-loom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/management\/pay-benefits\/2020\/05\/04\/some-military-commissaries-limit-meat-purchases-as-possible-shortages-loom\/","title":{"rendered":"Some military commissaries limit meat purchases as possible shortages loom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Commissary customers in the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico are finding new limits<\/a> on how much fresh beef, pork, chicken and turkey products they can buy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defense Commissary Agency officials started the limitations on May 1, in anticipation of national shortages in the supply chain that\u2019s affected by closures of various U.S. beef\/pork\/poultry processing plants, according to retired Rear Adm. Robert Bianchi, DoD special assistant for commissary operations, in an announcement of the move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customers will be limited to two items of fresh beef, two items of fresh pork, two items of fresh chicken and two items of fresh turkey they can buy during each shopping trip. But officials note there may be exceptions, based on a store\u2019s supply. If the store is extremely short on a product, they may further limit it to one item; or if a supply has been building up of the product, they may loosen the limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials will remove the limits when the supply chain returns to normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bianchi said these limits will especially help avoid depletion of meat inventories in stores that don\u2019t get daily meat deliveries, in case there is customer panic buying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The limits don\u2019t apply to overseas commissaries, because the commissary agency has enough supply in the pipeline. Bianchi said the agency continues to prioritize quantities for shipment to overseas stores. Customers overseas have less access to these familiar products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commissary agency spokesman Kevin Robinson said officials haven\u2019t yet seen instances of panic buying of meat, and haven\u2019t yet seen any shortages. \u201cThe May 1 shopping limits were implemented to get ahead of anticipated shortages,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n