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As bird flu outbreaks send egg prices climbing, local restaurants and bakeries must cope with shortages and decide when to raise prices.
“We had to do a price increase on our breakfast menu, especially since it’s all based off of eggs,” said Jennifer Lemus-Flores, manager of Swanton Street Diner in Winchester. “The French toast has eggs, pancakes has eggs, omelets, benedicts, all of that.”
Lemus-Flores said keeping menu prices low has become increasingly difficult with the price surge. She said a case of 30 dozen eggs used to cost around $72 and is now over $100. As a result, the diner has had to raise menu prices by anywhere from 25 cents to $1.
She said customers have been understanding.
“They understand what, you know, what we’re going through,” she said. “Even for them, buying eggs at the supermarket is expensive as well.”
The U.S. Agriculture Department predicts egg prices could jump 41% this year. The main reason prices have soared — hitting an average of $4.95 per dozen last month, an all-time high — is highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu. According to USDA data, over 166 million birds have been killed to limit the virus’ spread.
The virus has also infected 70 people, including one who died. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, humans can contract avian flu if the virus gets into their eyes, nose or mouth. Although rare, this can happen when the flu is in the air or by touching something contaminated. Avian flu can cause redness in the eyes, flu-like symptoms and fever.
Farms in Massachusetts are taking precautions to keep their birds healthy.
Tracy Kinsey, communications and outreach director of Wright-Locke Farm in Winchester, said only trained volunteers and farmers are now allowed in the chicken coop, and they must wash their feet before entering. Customers are also limited to purchasing half a dozen eggs.
“When it first happened, the shortage, people were trying to stock up, but that has sort of leveled off, and people are just back to their regular orders,” Kinsey said. “We do have access, if not from our own hens, from our partner farms that we partner with.”
Fred Moscaritolo, owner of La Cascia’s Bakery in Medford, said his costs have increased since he uses a lot of eggs. Last week, he paid $8 a dozen.
“I deal with a variety of vendors, so they all have eggs. It's just that they’re limiting how much you can buy,” he said. “It’s just costing double what it was.”
Although he has not had to increase prices yet, Moscaritolo said he will if the cost of eggs does not come down.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins laid out a plan Wednesday to combat the egg shortage. She said the USDA will invest $1 billion in addition to the roughly $2 billion already spent on dealing with bird flu.
The federal government plans to spend $500 million to help farmers increase biosecurity measures, $400 million to assist farmers who have lost flocks in the outbreak, and $100 million on vaccine research.
“I just hope it doesn’t get any worse,” Moscaritola said. “Hopefully, we can get those egg prices back under control.”
Joseph Schanda Sr, owner and head chef at Paul Revere Restaurant in Medford, said the high prices hurt the restaurant.
“It kills us on prices because eggs are so expensive, and you can only get two cases everywhere you go,” he said.
Schanda said although he hasn’t raised prices yet, he may have to eventually.
“We can only eat so much of the loss,” he said. “We’re thinking about putting a surcharge on market value, you know, extra eggs and stuff like that.”
Smaller businesses are feeling the strain of the shortage. Lemus-Flores said that because Swanton Street Diner is a family-owned business, it does not have the same resources as a larger company.
“TGI Fridays or Texas Roadhouse or Capital Grille, we don’t get as much help as they do,” she said. “We would have to find our own resources, how we can find things and what’s best for us to, you know, to accommodate ourselves with the prices and all of that.”
Lemus-Flores also said the most important thing is to stay hopeful.
“We just got to stay positive, keep our head straight, and hope all this shortage ends quick,” she said. “We’re just trying to bring in new ideas, try to make it as good as possible, even as possible for everybody.”
This story is part of a partnership between Winchester News, Gotta Know Medford and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
