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A Store-by-Store Guide to Purchasing Eggs Amid a Nationwide Shortage
Food & Wine ^ | Nicolette Baker

Posted on 03/10/2025 4:25:58 PM PDT by nickcarraway

Here’s a breakdown of which stores have restrictions and where you might still find a dozen.

Eggs have been in short supply for several months, and it’s no surprise why: a widespread outbreak of the H5N1 avian flu has devastated egg-laying flocks, with more than 20 million egg-laying hens dying in the last quarter alone. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports the virus has spread to all 50 states, infecting more than 159 million birds.

So if you’ve struggled to find a carton during your usual grocery run — or balked at the soaring prices of what was once an affordable staple — you’re not alone.

Shoppers are getting creative in response. Some are planning trips to local farmers’ markets, while others are even considering raising their own hens. If that’s not an option for you, don’t worry. As consumers face skyrocketing egg prices and industry-wide shortages, Food & Wine took a closer look at the purchasing restrictions at some of the country’s biggest grocery chains.

Budget-conscious grocer Aldi is limiting customers to two cartons of eggs per visit, at least according to store signage in some markets. (NBC reports that Chicago-area stores have a two-dozen limit, while we observed a similar restriction in New York City.) However, regular Aldi shoppers might not be surprised — as users on the r/Aldi_employees subreddit discuss, select stores across the country have been instituting egg limits for months. The company didn’t immediately respond to our request for comment.

Costco

This members-only big box retailer was among the first to institute purchase limits on eggs by limiting customers to only three dozen eggs per transaction, as videos of in-store signage show. However, customers at some of the bulk retailers’ locations are still braving mile-long queues to purchase the breakfast staple.

H-E-B

This San Antonio-based regional grocery chain does not currently have a limit, but the company told a Texas news station that it’s continuing to “closely monitor the situation” as egg prices rise and national supplies shift.

Kroger Kroger doesn’t currently have a national policy on the books for its more than 1,200 locations. However, a company representative tells Food & Wine that some locations might have a temporary limit of two dozen eggs.

Publix The beloved Florida-based chain doesn’t appear to currently have any restrictions on egg purchases, but a company representative told a local news outlet that stores may have limited availability. As with many supermarkets, prepare to encounter empty shelves or higher-than-expected prices.

Target

According to a Target representative, select Target locations in Hawaii are implementing a two-carton limit on egg purchases. We also observed a two-carton limit at a New York City location. Many similar signs, as posted online, indicate that the restrictions and shortages are in effect through March 1 — a date, of course, that’s open to change. “We are currently experiencing high demand and supplier shortages for eggs,” a sign at a New York City outpost reads. “We are actively seeking additional supply partners.”

Want to save yourself from an unfruitful trip? The Target app has a store pickup feature to keep shoppers updated on their location’s current stock, but it’s worth noting that information on available quantities may not be current.

Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe’s is asking customers to limit themselves to one dozen eggs each day — the strictest policy we’ve seen so far.

“Due to ongoing issues with the supply of eggs, we are currently limiting egg purchases to one dozen per customer, per day, in all Trader Joe’s stores across the country,” Nakia Rohde, a company representative, tells Food & Wine. “We hope these limits will help to ensure that as many of our customers who need eggs are able to purchase them when they visit Trader Joe’s.”

Still hoping to snag a budget-friendly carton? Employees recommend arriving right at the store’s opening time to ensure you claim your dozen.

Walmart

The nation’s largest supermarket isn’t currently enforcing egg purchase limits at its more than 10,600 stores, save for its mega 60-count packages. You’ll only be able to snag two of these $38 boxes per trip, as a representative confirmed via email. “In Walmart U.S. stores, we have not imposed any purchase limits nationally,” a representative tells Food & Wine. “Although supply is very tight, we’re working with suppliers to try and help meet customer demand, while striving to keep prices as low as possible.”

Whole Foods

Amazon subsidiary Whole Foods — which requires its eggs suppliers to deliver eggs that are cage-free, have access to sizeable outdoor areas, are raised in an outdoor system, and have access to rangeland or grassland — is currently limiting shoppers to three cartons per trip in some stores, according to signs posted in some locations. Social media users across the country have spotted similar signage since early January, with some highlighting that the entire egg section is sold out (including the priciest organic cartons). The company didn’t immediately respond to our request for comment.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Food
KEYWORDS: eggs
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

Possums messed with our backyard chickens too.


21 posted on 03/10/2025 5:54:20 PM PDT by rfp1234 (E Porcibus Unum)
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To: nickcarraway

We can grow more eggs, we can grow more chickens. As many of each as we want. Don’t even ask... “which one comes first?”


22 posted on 03/10/2025 6:28:28 PM PDT by faucetman (Just the facts, ma'am, Just the facts )
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To: nickcarraway

To heck with stores. Take a drive out-of-town and stop at those homes with “Yard Eggs For Sale” signs in their front yards.


23 posted on 03/10/2025 6:33:29 PM PDT by eastexsteve
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

Yep !!
People don’t realize how old eggs already are, when they hit the shelf in the store.
I’ve got my own happy backyard chicks, and thankfully, don’t have to deal with expensive store bought eggs.


24 posted on 03/10/2025 6:39:46 PM PDT by ANKE69 ( 🇺🇲 Let's MAGA 🇺🇲)
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To: nickcarraway

Eggs are so expensive I switched to Cadbury.


25 posted on 03/10/2025 6:54:01 PM PDT by monkeyshine (live and let live is dead)
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To: Disambiguator

It’s worse than that. “Presumptive positive.” Seriously.

https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4296693/posts?page=48#48

Otherwise spot-on.


26 posted on 03/10/2025 7:03:12 PM PDT by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 /!i!! &@$%&*(@ -)
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To: ridesthemiles

We just walk out to the chicken house and get some. One hen is getting broody and pecks you.


27 posted on 03/10/2025 7:41:43 PM PDT by oldasrocks
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To: nickcarraway

Costco carries a brand I can’t recall that are brown, soy-free, free-range eggs in a 24-pack for about 9 bucks.

Best deal anywhere. Trying them next week.

By the by, obligatory dig at RFK Jr for failing to address the ongoing defective policies which created this problem in the first place.


28 posted on 03/10/2025 8:00:36 PM PDT by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 /!i!! &@$%&*(@ -)
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To: nickcarraway

Costco carries a brand I can’t recall that are brown, soy-free, free-range eggs in a 24-pack for about 9 bucks.

Best deal anywhere. Trying them next week.

By the by, obligatory dig at RFK Jr for failing to address the ongoing defective policies which created this problem in the first place.


29 posted on 03/10/2025 8:02:07 PM PDT by logi_cal869 (-cynicus the "concern troll" a/o 10/03/2018 /!i!! &@$%&*(@ -)
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To: nickcarraway

F’ing liars! The chickens were not killed by a virus. They were killed because they might have had a virus. Some probably did have a virus and some smaller number may have died of a virus but the vast majority by an astronomical margin were killed. It’s the same as the Covid response: Draconian. “If only one life is saved it will be worth it.” Kill them all until there is no trace.


30 posted on 03/10/2025 9:00:03 PM PDT by webheart (We have to call them what they are: Communists. They are not liberal or progressive. Eed Plebnista. )
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To: nickcarraway

Aldi has limit 2 dozen here. No idea if that’s everywhere or not. I think around $6 per dozen last week.


31 posted on 03/10/2025 9:07:17 PM PDT by John Milner (Marching for Peace is like breathing for food.)
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To: ifinnegan
Costco price has always been lowest and remains low.

That's provided your local Costco has eggs. I met people in another warehouse store (where they bundled 2 cartons of 18 eggs each together) reporting that they had just come from Costco, which was out of eggs.

32 posted on 03/11/2025 12:22:27 AM PDT by EinNYC
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To: EinNYC

True. But there’s a limit. Either two or four cartons. I don’t remember.

Still they can sell out, it’s true.


33 posted on 03/11/2025 1:02:57 AM PDT by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: nickcarraway

The supermarkets should have hens laying eggs while in the store. Customers would line up and wait.... 🐓🥚🐣


34 posted on 03/11/2025 1:26:41 AM PDT by minnesota_bound (Need more money to buy everything now)
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$4.49 a dozen for Jumbo at Trader Joes the last two times I have been there. One per customer


35 posted on 03/11/2025 5:36:35 AM PDT by DAC21 (")
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