Most weekends, teachers Brittany Kurtz and Amanda Huson enjoy wandering amongst the stalls of the city of Orange’s farmer’s market. One of their weekly staples: eggs. But in recent weeks, the cost of those eggs has leaped from $6 to $12.

Nationwide, the rising egg prices — already at an all-time high — are due to a surge of H5H1, a highly contagious pathogenic avian influenza, more commonly known as the “bird flu.” The virus’s outbreak is responsible for decimating poultry populations across the country, resulting in higher prices, and empty shelves. 

In Brea, the effects of this scarcity are evident in grocery stores like Trader Joe’s and Ralph’s; on restaurant menus slashed of egg-based dishes; and even curriculum changes in BOHS’s Culinary Arts program.

Once infected with the bird flu, chickens have a fatality rate close to 100%. As a result of the near-zero survival rate, poultry farmers have resorted to culling 166 million birds – most of them egg-laying chickens – since the outbreak began in February 2022. 

When flocks are infected, farmers and veterinarians must notify the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), which slaughters the entire flock and decontaminates the facilities in an effort to contain the virus.

“H5N1 rapidly mutates,” Sara Bottalico, AP Biology teacher, said. “[These] mutations can lead to the virus being more contagious; having better success of invading a host [chicken’s] cell; or evading the host cell’s immune defenses.”

The states hit hardest – Iowa and California account for 38% of all affected birds in the U.S. – have experienced devastating losses in poultry stock, disrupting the supply chain of eggs, and sending their prices soaring. 

According to Bottalico, while “the risk of [the virus] developing into something that can easily infect humans is low” (since March 2024, 64 people have been infected), the effect on humans has primarily been economical. 

The cost of a dozen Grade A eggs has risen from $2.52 in January 2024, to $4.95 in February 2025. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) anticipates another 40% increase this year due to supply chain disruptions.

In California, where strict egg policies already limit grocers to cage-free eggs, the shortage is even harder to avoid.

Trader Joe’s outlets, including Brea’s Imperial Blvd. location, post signs in egg sections that read, “All egg varieties are limited to one per day.” 

Karla Yoell (‘25), Trader Joe’s employee, has witnessed the gradual increase in prices. “Eggs went from $2.99 to $3.49, and now we are at $4.99, which is high for Trader Joe’s,” Yoell said.

Despite the price increases, the store’s shelves are sold out of eggs before noon each day.  

While Trader Joe’s struggles with stock depletion, Ralph’s has managed to keep eggs on the shelves by sourcing from out-of-state suppliers. The Brea Gateway Center Ralph’s receives shipments from a Riverside warehouse that stocks H5N1-free eggs from Nevada. But this sourcing has an unavoidable consequence: increased prices. 

“Normally, a dozen extra-large eggs is $7.99, but now they’re $8.19, and anything higher, [like organic], can be $12 or more,” Ralph’s sales manager Abel Gonzalez told the Wildcat. “But that’s nothing we can control,” Gonzalez said. “The only thing we’re trying to do is ensure that we have eggs in the store, because a lot of other stores don’t have eggs at all.”

At other supermarkets, like the East Imperial Highway Albertsons, prices are even higher, with a dozen Grade A costing as much as $14.99. 

The Whole Foods located in the Village at La Floresta receives eggs from Vital Farms, but with the supplier out of stock, the chain set a three-carton limit for customers and placed signs on empty shelves stating: “We are currently experiencing difficulty sourcing eggs that meet our strict animal welfare standards.” The supplier’s pasture-raised variety has been hit harder than cage-free chickens, though both are affected by the flu. 

For some retailers, even a combination of increased prices and purchase limits has not slowed customer demand. 

At Costco, pallets of eggs sell out as soon as workers roll out stock. 

While the effects of the bird flu are most visible at local grocery stores, the egg shortage has also taken a toll on high school campuses as well. 

At BOHS, the Culinary Arts Career Technical Education (CTE) program purchases 66 dozen eggs for four class periods for a first semester egg-based unit. 

Janet Steinmetz, Culinary Arts teacher, acknowledged that her program was fortunate to have purchased their supply before the shortage. “Had we waited to cover eggs until later in the year, the high costs would have limited the number of recipes my students could prepare,” Steinmetz said.

This semester, fewer recipes call for eggs. Still, Steinmetz has shuffled lesson plans to include recipes that use even less eggs than she typically assigns. 

“Eggs are an essential ingredient in many culinary creations, but fortunately during this egg shortage, which is causing exorbitant prices, we are covering units — soups, grains — that don’t require a large number of eggs,” Steinmetz said.

As Steinmetz budgets for egg purchases for the remainder of the year, she searches for school budget-friendly options. 

“Currently in some stores, eggs are nearly $1 each, which definitely creates a challenge when budgeting,” Steinmetz said. 

Although the Culinary Arts classes have managed to avoid the brunt of the egg shortage’s effects due to Steinmetz’s flexibility, local restaurants with primarily egg-based menus have taken a severe hit, both in menu options and budget. 

For local businesses like Brea’s Katsu Bar and Nektar, the rising price of eggs has posed challenges. 

“We use two cases of eggs every week (each case has around 12-15 dozen cartons). So compared to our normal season, we’ve been spending $100 more per week, $400 more per month,” Joshua Jeong, owner of both establishments, told the Wildcat. “$400 is not a small amount for small businesses like [ours].” 

Because popular menu items at Katsu Bar include eggs, Jeong has turned to cheaper suppliers. 

With their normal supplier, Katsu Bar and Nektar would have been spending an extra $130 per week, and an extra $520 per month.

Brea Gateway Center’s Maui Hawaiian BBQ is also concerned about egg prices. Since they opened in 2005, their menus have been repeatedly adjusted for inflation, but this time, the menu changes are the result of the scarcity of eggs.   

“The price increases are definitely coming,” a Maui Hawaiian BBQ employee who requested anonymity, said. “Vendors are selling [eggs] at a much higher rate than normal.” 

As a result, the restaurant has been forced to remove some egg-based items — like Loco Moco and grilled spam and eggs — from their menu. 

The timeline for a stabilizing egg market remains uncertain, especially as inflation continues to compound the crisis. While the poultry industry has managed to contain previous avian flu outbreaks – most recently in 2015 – this recent surge has proven more persistent. 

In response, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins outlined in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that officials are considering temporary egg imports to alleviate costs, and revisiting California’s Proposition 12, which enforces strict space requirements for egg-laying hens and keeps prices high. Additionally, Rollins intends on rolling out a federal plan that contains $500 million to upgrade biosecurity at poultry farms, and $400 million in financial relief for farmers whose flocks have been decimated by the avian flu. 

Still, challenges remain. With vaccinations not yet publicly available for farmers, and the federal response shifting since the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), culling flocks remains the only solution for the next three to six months.