Bulk chicken sale causes a massive traffic jam at Raleigh’s State Farmers Market
A large traffic jam left drivers waiting at the State Farmer’s Market in Raleigh on Thursday, caused by a massive chicken sale from the back of a truck.
Cars backed up along Lake Wheeler Road as a line of customers rushed to the market for the curbside chicken orders. Road paving being done on nearby Centennial Parkway caused further backups.
State Capitol Police officer Sgt. Kevin Bobbitt told The News & Observer he and others found out about the traffic problems Thursday morning and were asked to help out, directing folks into lines.
Eastern North Carolina chicken farm House of Raeford brought a refrigerated truck of chicken to the farmers market Thursday, selling boneless breasts and thighs and chicken wings in bulk. The minimum order is a case with 40 pounds in it.
In this coronavirus-altered moment in which we live, even grocery shopping poses certain logistical challenges, including low inventory and the threat of community spread. The demand for chicken and curbside pickup appears to be driving the sale.
Sale promoted on Facebook
The farm promoted the sale on Facebook. To buy chicken, customers never leave their car. Raeford employees take orders and then bring the packaged chicken to the cars. All sales are cash only, with orders ranging from $15 to $60.
Ashley Duff was asked by House of Raeford to help with sales a few weeks ago and said this was the most people he’d seen to buy chicken.
“House of Raeford, they stepped up and saw the need in the community,” Duff said. “It’s also helping the farmers, it’s helping them keep the birds in the chicken houses and letting the cash flow continue for them. And also the trucking companies, everything is a big plus for everybody.”
He also workers are doing their best to take precautions when serving people, wearing protective equipment and keeping distance with people in their cars.
“We try to use precaution. A lot of people have masks on, we have masks ... we’re trying to be as safe as possible,” he said.
Nancy Britt told The N&O she hadn’t been able to find much chicken in grocery stores so she was getting a case to share with her husband and two of her adult children. She arrived at the farmers market at 7:45 a.m., finally got to the front of the line of cars at 11:30. She said she hoped the chicken was worth the wait.
“We’re going to have chicken though, I can assure you of that,” Britt said.
A second truck arrives to applause
Cheron Bruce was a handful of cars behind Britt and said he had shown up around 8 Thursday morning, but he didn’t expect it to be that long of a wait. Bruce said he was recently furloughed and just wanted to make sure his family has enough food in case of a shortage.
By noon, the first chicken truck had almost run out. Duff said they had already sold over 1,000 cases.
Then, a state trooper escorted another refrigerated truck full of poultry around the corner, to cheers and applause.
“I can’t say I’ve ever done that before,” said Trooper Pate, who led the escort. “But I’ve also never seen 1,000 people lined up to buy chicken either.”
The backup disrupted some of the business of other vendors. Raleigh seafood company Locals Seafood tweeted at the State Farmers Market account that the sale had made the market a “complete mess” and encouraged customers to wait until later in the day or Friday to pick up orders.
The Raleigh sale is just one in a tour of chicken sales planned by Raeford, including stops in Eastern North Carolina and South Carolina. Company spokesman Dave Witter said on-site sales have been going on for about three weeks, but that Thursday’s was preceded by media coverage, drawing the crowd.
“The community needed it,” Witter said. “They were having trouble finding meat in stores.”
In an email message, Witter said the company had seen a drop in sales from restaurants and colleges, as most were closed as part of coronavirus containment measures. But the demand is still there.
To check for future chicken sales, visit the House of Raeford Facebook page at facebook.com/HouseOfRaefordFarms.
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 11:55 AM.
