Egg prices way up as some Colorado grocery stores face shortages

The poster child for the volatility in food prices in Colorado has been eggs. Once reliably under $3 for a dozen, the price has spiked in many supermarkets to over $8, though in the Denver area there has been wide variance in what customers are paying at checkout.

At one store in Denver on Monday, eggs were $3.49. At another, $8.49. The national average for a dozen large eggs in December was $4.15, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The latest consumer price index shows that the price of eggs is up 36.8% from where it was a year ago, according to a report from personal finance site NerdWallet. The report said the rise in food prices overall was just 2.5% in the past year.

Nationally, the avian flu that started in 2022 has killed millions of egg-laying hens, drastically impacting supply. In Colorado, the mandate that went into effect last year requiring all eggs sold in the state be cage-free has also been brought into the price discussion, including during a committee hearing Monday at the legislature. A push to repeal the cage-free egg law failed in its first hearing on an 8-5 vote.

Other states that have cage-free laws include California, Massachusetts, Nevada, Washington, Oregon and Michigan.

On Monday, The Post visited several stores in the metro area and found signs, including at King Soopers and Whole Foods Market, telling consumers that the locations were experiencing shortages, blaming the avian flu, the state mandate and also the quality of the eggs. Some stores had also put into place purchase limits, ranging from one to four cartons per customer.

Stores like Natural Grocers also displayed orange paper signage in their egg section, recommending egg alternatives for bakers, such as unsweetened applesauce, ground flaxseed, vinegar and baking soda, silken tofu, soy-based yogurt or ripe banana.

During Monday’s search, a Trader Joe’s had the cheapest dozen eggs at $3.49, while a Sprouts Farmers Market offered the lowest price for an 18-count carton at $5.79.

Most stores also had either a small supply or no stock of a dozen large white eggs, leaving only pasture-raised organic large brown eggs, like those from Vital Farms, still available.

Shoppers in some parts of the country are already paying more than double the average price.

“It’s just robbery,” said Minneapolis resident Sage Mills to the Associated Press, who bought eggs to bake a birthday cake last week.

“Eggs used to be kind of a staple food for us, but now you know, you might as well just go out to eat.”

Here are the prices from the stores The Post visited on Monday:

• King Soopers, 10406 E Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., $8.49 for a dozen cage-free large white eggs, $9.49 for large brown eggs and $12.69 for 18 cage-free large white eggs.
• Sprouts Farmers Market, 3555 Central Park Blvd., $5.79 for 18 cage-free large brown eggs and $5.99 for a dozen cage-free organic large brown eggs. Limit four dozen eggs per visit.
• Whole Foods Market, 2375 E. 1st Ave., $3.99 for a dozen large white eggs, $5.49 for a dozen organic extra large brown eggs and $7.19 for organic large brown eggs. Three cartons per customer.
• Trader Joe’s, 750 North Colorado Blvd., $3.49 for a dozen cage-free large white eggs, $6.99 for a dozen organic pasture-raised large brown eggs and $5.49 for a dozen organic extra large free-range brown eggs. One carton per purchase.
• Safeway, 560 Corona St., $7.49 for a dozen cage-free large white eggs, $6.79 for a dozen large brown eggs and $6.99 for half a dozen cage-free large white eggs.
• Natural Grocers, 4500 E Alameda Ave., $3.99 for a dozen large brown eggs and $6.99 for a dozen organic pasture-raised large brown eggs.