Turkeys are available, but don’t wait: Saskatoon grocer

There doesn’t appear to be a shortage of turkeys for Christmas dinners in Saskatoon this year, but that doesn’t mean stores won’t sell out.

Wes Johnson, manager of the Real Canadian Superstore on Confederation Drive in Saskatoon, said his biggest tip for Christmas grocery shopping is that the early bird gets the turkey.

“We still have a good week before Christmas — try to get in the store as early as you can,” he said.

While concerns that there aren’t many turkeys available for dinners this holiday season have been circulating, Johnson said that’s not the case at his store.

“I can speak for us — we’re good. We have lots of turkeys. We’ve had lots roll in, we have more coming in all the time.”

A No Frills grocery store in the same area of the city also had plenty of birds in the freezer.

With Christmas right around the corner, Johnson stressed not waiting to get Christmas dinner shopping done at the last minute.

“There’s always that chance we might run out of turkeys,” Johnson said.

“I’ve always said to everybody, items like stovetop and turkey and cranberries, those really go-to items, never wait. Always get them early.”

The rush of customers into grocery stores last-minute before Christmas is a regular sight, he said, but waiting until the end could mean stores are sold out of the most popular holiday items.

“As you get closer to Christmas … some people’s moods change,” Johnson said.

“Tensions do rise … People forget how to drive this time of year with the cold weather and the ice and the snow. People forget they had a Christmas party coming up or a social gathering. Sometimes people forget Christmas.”

He said the pressures of the holiday season are certainly felt by his customers.

Those holiday stresses are one reason Superstore has partnered with the Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre this year

Rising costs for food with inflation — in particular items like meat — meaning everyone can use a little extra help this holiday season.

“Giving back to the community is very important and if we can, we should,” Johnson expressed.

For the most part, the store manager said they do their part to help shoppers out with ad matching and sales throughout the holidays.

“We still try to keep it as economical as we can,” Johnson said.