Scott Petersen, dairy manager at Dutch-Way Farm Market in Ephrata Township, Lancaster County, stocks the egg display at the grocery store on Monday, March 3, 2025.
Rachel McDevitt / WITF
Pa. businesses and customers are feeling pressure from rising egg prices
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Rachel McDevitt/StateImpact Pennsylvania
Rachel McDevitt / WITF
Scott Petersen, dairy manager at Dutch-Way Farm Market in Ephrata Township, Lancaster County, stocks the egg display at the grocery store on Monday, March 3, 2025.
Two pastors sitting in a sunny window booth were contemplating a serious question: eggs or no eggs?
Angelo Rodriguez and Wendell Yorkman met for breakfast on Monday at The Pancake Farm in Manheim Township, Lancaster County. On the front door, a sign told customers a $1.50 upcharge would be added to any egg dish, due to the high cost of eggs.
Yorkman was debating whether to get pancakes instead.
“But then I remembered, my friend was paying,” he said.
Rodriguez usually adds a third egg to his breakfasts, but this morning was weighing the upcharge. He recently went to pick up a few groceries for his daughter and looked at the price of a dozen eggs.
“It was $8.75 and I said, you know what? She’ll be all right,” he said.
One booth over, Robyn Weidner said she hasn’t been going out to breakfast as much because of price increases. Even at home, she’s eating less eggs. She was eating a lot of them as a source of protein while she’s in training for a half-marathon. Now she’s turning to other high-protein alternatives like oatmeal and chia seed pudding.
“I’m not going out and spending $7.99 on a dozen eggs, I can guarantee you that,” Weidner said. “I’m a single mom, so absolutely not, no way.”
Restaurants, bakeries and grocery stores are struggling with egg prices aggravated by inflation and the ongoing avian flu outbreak, which has cut into the nationwide egg supply. As businesses scramble to keep up with soaring costs, customers are left to decide if they are willing to spend extra for a breakfast staple and ingredient in many favorite recipes.
Why so high?
The average price of one dozen eggs nationwide has nearly doubled, from $2.52 in January 2024 to $4.95 in January this year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But that’s just an average. What Pennsylvanians are seeing can be much higher.
Avian flu is a factor. In January 2022, before the outbreak started, one dozen grade A, large eggs cost $1.93 on average, nationwide.
In its most recent egg markets overview report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service said there are still inadequate egg supplies because of the ongoing avian flu outbreak, but there are signs the situation may be starting to improve. The USDA said the pace of the outbreak is slowing and the national egg inventory rose slightly at the end of February.
The USDA said bird flu outbreaks in commercial table egg layer flocks in the first two months of this year resulted in the death of 30.1 million birds, 74% of which lived in conventional caged systems and produce the most common eggs that hit grocery store shelves.
The USDA is planning to spend $1 billion to address avian flu, with a goal to egg prices down.
Pennsylvania egg production during January totaled 681.8 million, a 4% decrease from the same time last year, according to the USDA. The state’s population of layer chickens was 6% lower in January, compared to the previous year.
Rachel McDevitt / WITF
The egg and dairy aisle at Dutch-Way Farm Market in Ephrata Township, Lancaster County on Monday, March 3, 2025.
Pennsylvania lost 1.9 million laying hens in Dauphin County and more than 85,000 in Lebanon County in early February.
Shannon Powers, press secretary for the state Department of Agriculture, said the Shapiro Administration is working to keep costs down for consumers through a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Recovery Fund, which helps farmers increase biosecurity measures and recover losses.
She said the state’s investment in testing and a coordinated response to outbreaks also help farmers minimize the cost to their operations and protect against future harm.
Powers said Pennsylvania ranks fourth in the nation in egg production and first in organic egg production. Eggs and other poultry products fall among Pennsylvania’s largest exports, worth $155.6 million.
Many factors determine the cost of eggs, Powers said.
“Canada and Mexico are two of our largest trading partners. Any negative changes to international trade could impact poultry farmers and the price of eggs,” she said.
Restaurant owners feel the heat
The Pancake Farm owner Javier Camacho said prices are affecting his business. He said customer traffic is down around 25%.
Camacho decided to add the $1.50 upcharge to egg meals a few weeks ago to deal with volatile prices, which he said was a hard decision.
“Prices are changing every day,” Camacho said. “If we place an order today and a dozen is $8.25, tomorrow will be $8.75 a dozen.”
Camacho said the restaurant uses up to 190 dozen eggs per week.
He doesn’t want customers to think he’s using the eggs as an excuse to bring in more money; he said he has to think of his employees and business costs.
The upcharge doesn’t apply to every meal. The pancake batter contains eggs, but pancakes don’t get the upcharge because, Camacho said, “they are our main thing.”
A price increase on pancakes would be “devastating,” he said.
Not everyone at The Pancake Farm is concerned. Most diners still have plates of eggs in front of them.
“If I need eggs, I buy eggs,” said Nancy Sarley, who had just ordered poached eggs.
“I’m just happy to wake up in the morning, I’m not looking at dirt, I’m not worried about the price of eggs,” said David Sarley.
At Quarryville Family Restaurant, managing partner Andrew Morgan is torn on how to handle the price of eggs. The restaurant goes through 300 dozen of them per week.
He hasn’t changed prices in about 10 months, he said, because he doesn’t want to upset his customers. A meal of two eggs, home fries, toast and bottomless coffee is $5.50 at the restaurant.
“We have an awesome group of customers who are very loyal, who say, ‘you got to do what you got to do.’ But we also want to provide value for their hard-earned dollar,” Morgan said.
An old purchase order put the issue in stark perspective for Morgan. He said the order shows he paid $31.39 for 30 dozen eggs three years ago. Today he is paying $250.59 for the same amount.
“That’s a 700% increase,” he said.
Price check
While grocery shopping, customers have to decide how important eggs are to them.
At the Dutch-Way Farm Market in Ephrata Township, Lancaster County, Kami Miller put one dozen eggs in her cart.
“One dozen, that’s all I can afford,” she said, laughing.
Miller said, since she moved to Rothsville about a year and a half ago, she’s watched the price of a dozen eggs jump from $1.99 to $5.99.
She said she never really watched egg prices until now, and she’s been baking a lot less because of it.
Larry Kauffman of East Lampeter Township wasn’t bothered much by the price. He said he always keeps eggs in the house.
“I hate to see what they’ll be by Easter,” he said.
Rachel McDevitt / WITF
Eggs on display at Dutch-Way Farm Market in Ephrata Township, Lancaster County on Monday, March 3, 2025.
Frances Eberly of Lititz glanced over the egg display before pushing her cart away.
She said she had some eggs at home, so she didn’t need to buy more. Plus, she has a source outside the grocery store; a friend with chickens will sell her a dozen eggs for $3.
“I guess if I needed them, I would pay that price,” she said.
Eberly said eggs are in so many baked goods that she has cut back on baking because of the price.
Jordan Snader, a partner at Dutch-Way, said the market’s relationship with a local farm lets them keep a steady supply of eggs at a better price than some competitors. One dozen large white eggs were on sale for $5.99 as of Monday.
Snader said customers are changing their patterns as egg prices rise, but he said they generally understand that it’s a nationwide problem.
Some customers have turned to specialty eggs over commercial white eggs.
Dave Dietz, produce and dairy manager at Lemon Street Market in Lancaster city, said it’s been a little challenging to keep eggs in stock. He said egg sales are up 40%-50% over last year.
That’s likely because the market has high standards for eggs, Dietz said, usually offering pastured and organic varieties. Prices for specialty eggs haven’t jumped as dramatically as commercial white eggs.
For example, Eagle Road brand brown, large eggs from non-GMO fed, pastured hens are priced at $5.49 per dozen, the cheapest eggs at Lemon Street Market. Prices range up to $9.99 per dozen for Alderfer brand brown, jumbo, organic eggs.
Bakeries rise to the occasion
It’s one thing to skip eggs for breakfast. But eggs are a critical ingredient in many baked goods.
Laura Wu, co-owner of Hello Mango Asian Bakery in Manheim Township, said she can no longer afford eggs from the wholesale company she was working with. Now she’s hunting for eggs at Costco, Restaurant Depot, and farm markets.
It’s not just the price.
“It is also difficult to find more eggs,” Wu said. “Everywhere has limits.”
The bakery has had to raise prices by $2 for a 6-inch cake and $4 for an 8-inch cake.
Wu said she is hoping prices drop in the spring.
Erica Wolgemuth-Johnson is experimenting with using less eggs in some of her products at Erica Joy Bakes Gluten Free Creations in Lititz.
She has experience baking without eggs; her shop specializes in vegan treats.
“I was joking the other day that we’ll just go fully vegan,” Wolgemuth-Johnson said.
But she said there are egg-heavy recipes that she will keep, because she created the recipes, like her honey-almond-lavender cake.
She hasn’t raised prices so far, since gluten-free products are already a little more expensive and she doesn’t want to price people out.
Wolgemuth-Johnson is avoiding making egg-heavy bakes for the shop’s display case.
“I’m not going to make it just in the hopes someone comes in and buys it,” she said.
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