Driven by the huge increase in at-home meal occasions during the COVID-19 pandemic, bacon, like numerous other proteins, has seen an upsurge in overall buyers vs. a year ago for the latest 52 weeks, ending June 14, 2020, in multi-retail outlets, excluding convenience, according to IRI, Chicago. 

The Coronavirus pandemic has hurt many businesses and affected many ways of life. Restaurants have been hit particularly hard, and the industry is still reeling from reduced capacity, closed dining rooms and the lingering uncertainty about how to avoid the virus.

In a normal year, we would be presenting Independent Processor’s annual Processor of the Year Award to a company that best exemplifies all of the qualities of a small or mid-sized meat processor. In a normal year, it’s a difficult process to determine which company to choose. However, there has been nothing normal about this year since mid-March. 

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the United States, the meat industry increasingly faces the potential of pandemic-related economic and legal threats.