A new federal report says that the avian flu outbreak has driven the price of eggs in California to a whopping $9 a dozen. We hit the local Safeway and found that yes, in SF, eggs really can cost that much right now.
We’ve seen inflation in recent years, but this is really something else. According to a new report in today’s Chronicle, the price of eggs has jumped 70% in just the last month. The reason of course is the avian influenza (aka bird flu) outbreak, which is indeed devastating for the nation’s poultry farmers, and is causing these egg shortages. But it’s devastating to grocery shoppers’ wallets too, as a new report from the US Department of Agriculture points out that the retail price of eggs in California is currently running at $8.97 a dozen.
For real, $9 a dozen? SFis went to the local Safeway, and sure enough, even a bottom-shelf carton of Lucerne eggs is going for $8.99 a dozen.
And shit, the organic eggs at Safeway cost $12.99 a dozen.
There were some eggs priced at $7.99 a dozen, but good luck finding those.
And no surprise, there are restrictions on how many cartons of eggs you can buy, at Safeway at least…