If you live in New York City you’re probably aware of the recent bacon, egg and cheese sandwich price rise.
The main culprit behind the rising cost of a bacon, egg and cheese is the price of eggs. Over the past year, egg prices have been skyrocketing faster than ever before.
But how do the egg prices affect the price of New York City’s beloved sandwich? The delis around Pace have all raised the price for their bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches. Highline Deli’s bacon, egg and cheese sandwich increased by $1. On a roll it cost $6 rather than the $5 it was priced at previously. Their $1 increase is for any sandwiches that includes eggs.
For the Chopped Cheese Deli, their bacon, egg and cheese increased by 50 cents: it is $5 instead of $4.50. Why do the delis have different price increases? The reason can be to make it more affordable for students who go to the deli or to not lose profits.
A recent outbreak of the avian flu, otherwise known as the bird flu, has affected millions of chickens across the country. Because of this virus, there has been a decrease in egg production, since so many chickens have become ill or end up being killed to prevent the spread of the bird flu.
According to reports, the virus has killed 162 million throughout the US, which is leading to a shortage of eggs and a huge price bump. The average price of eggs has skyrocketed from $2.25 to over $8 for just a dozen. In New York City, average egg prices are above $10.
The bird flu isn’t the only reason for the prices going up. According to The Guardian major egg corporations are using the avian flu to increase their egg prices.
Egg farms in the Southeast remained free of the bird flu until January but the companies that run the egg farms were raising their egg prices long before this. In 2023 Cal-Maine Foods increased their gross profits after raising their prices above costs, even when their flocks were not affected by the avian flu.
While many of us are suffering, others are actually benefiting from the high price of eggs. Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg producer, reported an 82 percent increase in revenue thanks to the higher egg prices and desperation of many people.
So what are some things we can do? Since we’re consumers, we can try exploring alternative breakfast options or try out recipes that require fewer eggs so it can help ease our financial burden.
Being informed can help us work through these challenges. By understanding what’s going on in the world right now, we can all try to explore new breakfast choices if eggs can’t fit into the budget.
