By Logan B. Anderson

DOVER — As Delmarva and the rest of the nation continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, many small businesses and organizations are feeling weighted down by supply chain challenges and inflation.

Restaurants, both locally and nationwide, are having to alter their menus and recipes to deal with price increases the likes of which haven’t been seen since 1980.

Local small businesses are having to search for stock and keep extra cash on hand to purchase what they need when they find it.

Local nonprofit organizations and fraternal orders are also starting to see a pinch to their wallets and are grateful for the support of their communities.

In response to these issues, a member of Delaware’s Congressional Delegation has sponsored legislation to combat the supply chain problems and support American-made products.

Challenges are hard to swallow for restaurants

Recently, the National Restaurant Association conducted a survey of its members and found that 95% of eateries have experienced significant delays or shortages of key food items in recent months.

Nearly three-quarters of the nation’s restaurants have had to make recipe changes due to supply chain challenges.

The Delaware Restaurant Association has heard from its members about rising costs and shortages they are facing.

“Everyone is experiencing supply chain issues — we heard this week about the price of avocados and (chicken) wings, specifically — amazing how costly both have become to offer, yet restaurants are unsure about raising prices for fear of risking customer loss. It’s a hard issue all the way around,” Karen Stauffer, senior director of communication and strategy, said.

Wholesale food prices increased sharply in September, according to the National Restaurant Association’s data, posting the highest 12-month increase since 1980.

“Ninety thousand restaurants have closed permanently or long-term, and restaurant sales are down approximately $300 billion since the pandemic began,” Sean Kennedy, executive president of public affairs for the National Restaurant Association, wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden seeking the White House’s help with current supply chain and inflation issues.

According to Mr. Kennedy, transportation and shipping constraints and the need for immigration reform are contributing to restaurants’ current challenges.

He suggests that rules be changed to permit 18- to 21-year-old individuals to become commercial drivers, allowing them to drive in interstate commerce once they meet rigorous training requirements.

“One solution to this issue is to allow more young people to enter the trucking industry as drivers, as the average age of a long-haul driver in 2018 was 55 years old. Additionally, high school graduates cannot join the trucking industry upon completion of school as federal regulations prohibit them from driving in interstate commerce until the age of 21,” Mr. Kennedy said.

Mr. Kennedy believes creating a clear path to citizenship would also increase the available legal workforce and would help unclog shipping bottlenecks.

Small and local businesses need support

Agape Body Piercings recently reopened their piercing studio following closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The one-of-a-kind business in Delaware has been facing challenges in sourcing the material it needs to conduct its business.

The business provides body piercing services that have to be clean and sterile. Agape chooses to use special sterilized gloves to practice their trade but finding and purchasing those gloves has been a challenge.

“Our gloves have gone from $6.50 for a box, $65 for a case, to $23 to $27 a box,” Codi Canasa, co-owner of Agape, said. “Our sterile gloves have gone from $30 to $50 a box to $128 a box.”

Ms. Canasa has dealt with other supply issues, too, and it has forced the small business to raise its prices slightly.

“For the first time, we’ve had to raise our pricing. It wasn’t that much, it was $5 to $10,” she said.

Ms. Canasa hopes the community will support small local businesses to help them through this uncertain period.

“A lot of businesses, especially small business who don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to order bulk, are hurting,” she said.

“It is a very trying time for small business owners, which is why it is so important for our communities to support local and small businesses.”

Clubs starting to feel the pinch

Many area clubs and organizations have kitchens where they sell food or hold fundraisers. Many, like the Milford Elks Lodge 2401, purchase much of their supplies from local grocers and wholesale stores.

“We are seeing a lot of upticks at all the local stores such as Redner’s and Food Lion. Notably something as simple as salad dressing has gone up from $1 to $2 depending on the brand and bagged salads that were two for $5 are now almost $4 each,” Cyndee Sammons, Milford Elks Lodge secretary, said.

The lodge hasn’t had to make any major changes in response to shortages and inflation, but it has raised prices nominally.

The Elks, like other clubs and fraternal orders, make most of their revenue from their members, either through dues, fundraisers or regular sales, like weekly dinners.

“To this point, we have been able to keep our prices at current levels. We raised prices $1 last year so that our Thursday dinners range from $6 to $8, and our Friday dinners stay a constant $10 with special dinners such as seafood or steak dinners at $15,” Ms. Sammons said.

She added that the lodge can maintain those prices thanks to donations from its members.

“We are striving to keep the cost of our dinners affordable to our members. Many of our members are on fixed incomes and we don’t want to price our meals out of their price range. We look at our lounge as a meeting place for our members and as long as it stays cost effective, we will be OK,” she said.

Ms. Sammons added that if prices keep going up, they will have to reevaluate how they operate.

“If prices keep skyrocketing, we will regroup and determine how to adjust our pricing to keep meals affordable for our membership. I see us getting creative with our meals. Good down-home cooking can be both good and cost effective.”

Coons co-sponsors Congressional solution

On Thursday, U.S. Sen. Chris Coon, D-Del., announced that he has co-sponsored legislation aimed at helping businesses and consumers impacted by the pandemic-related supply chain disruptions.

Called The Supply Chain Resiliency Act, the bill aims to alleviate current supply chain bottlenecks and prevent future disruptions by investing in American companies to reduce the country’s reliance on long supply chains and ensure that critical products are made in America.

“Our focus must be on addressing disruptions in global supply chains and, in an increasingly crowded global market that’s been impacted by a pandemic, amplifying our own economy’s strengths,” said Sen. Coons. “Manufacturing is critical to our country’s security and prosperity, and it’s essential that Congress invest in made-in-America production. The Supply Chain Resiliency Act will strengthen domestic manufacturing, address vulnerabilities in our supply chain, and help secure good-paying, high-skill jobs for workers in Delaware.”

According to the Delaware Prosperity Partnership, more than 27,000 Delawareans work in manufacturing businesses.

Sen. Coons believes that investing in and improving the Port of Wilmington could be a way to improve supply chain woes.

In a statement released Thursday, Sen. Coons’ office said, “The state’s major international port and location in the northeast corridor create natural opportunities for continued growth as a supply chain hub. With further investment, Delaware is well-positioned to advance its leadership in cutting-edge advanced manufacturing and supply chain logistics.”

The Supply Chain Resiliency Act was introduced by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., the Rev. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.