If you didn’t notice, the cost of dozens of eggs at local grocery stores has skyrocketed over the past few months, and if you can find them on store shelves, you know. Nowadays, much of Southern California is turning to local farmers for egg supply.
Stephanie Vickers, a resident of Rancho Cucamonga, told KTLA that the outrageous costs of eggs have been completely separated from her grocery list for a while.
“To be honest, it was during Thanksgiving,” she said when asked when she was last bought her egg.
The 2022 bird flu outbreak is largely due to rising prices and a widespread shortage of staple poultry products. When a virus is detected on a chicken farm, the entire flock of chickens is slaughtered, limiting the spread of the virus. As a large egg producer that routinely houses over a million chickens, even some infectious diseases can destroy the egg supply.
It may not be surprising that local grocery stores have a limit on the number of eggs they can buy at once.
Egg shelf (KTLA) found at local trader Joe grocery store in Southern California on February 10th, 2025
Trader Joe’s patrons across the country can now only buy one dozen per visit to the store, so they can find eggs when they leave.
At Whole Foods, the Inland Empire, where egg shelves had already been wiped clean, customers are only allowed in three cartons each, according to the sign posted.
“It’s actually a supply and demand issue at this point,” said David Lazarus, KTLA consumer reporter. Not only is the price of chicken high, but egg prices are rising much higher. ”
Lazarus also said that everyone can give a fair share as stores are falling into pandemic-style rations as egg hoarding is a problem. His advice is to shop.
“There are stores that sell eggs at semi-seasonal prices,” he said. “We’ll also propose a farmer’s market.”
Rosemary Farm, a Southern California egg producer with a farm in Rancho Cucamonga, is one of the places where customers can buy eggs from the sauce.
Chino’s Mouth Family Farm, which has been around since 1957, is yet another option. Luckily, their small places are not hit by the bird flu. What’s happening across the country has led to an influx of customers. Due to high demand, farms limit their customers to two flats or 40 eggs per customer.
“We have two and a half dozen dozens here and we put these in dozens for everyone, and this tray is $7.25 per dozen, so this tray is $17.95,” Paul Maust said in KTLA. He told Shelby Nelson. “We make eggs much fresher. Sometimes it’s weeks before we go into the shelf, rather than bringing them from out of state.”
Other options for buying fresh eggs include Billy Egg Farm in Chino and Boatman Egg Farm in Ontario.
