Egg Prices

March 9, 2004 - Ed’s Egg-cellent Adventure

According to news reports, people are buying into the low carb diet craze. We are eating less pasta and bread, and more meat and vegetables. Bread prices are down and egg prices are up. Cholesterol be hanged – there’s nothing like protein to melt away the pounds.

Yesterday the dedicated staff of edhat.com flew-the-coop and ventured into the land of groceries. We were wondering about the extent of egg inflation, and we were wondering if you could strike a bargain now that the strike is over. The dedicated staff is proud to report that even though there may be reason for a chicken to cross the road, we never found a reason to cross the picket lines. Like many people in Santa Barbara, we had not been in Vons, Albertsons, or Ralphs since last fall. And what better way, we thought, to signify a new beginning than eggs … large AA eggs, to be specific.

We checked out a DOZEN stores in all. It could have just been chance, but it seemed to the dedicated staff that the largest crowds were still at the stores where there had not been a strike. Scolari’s was packed, especially the space in front of the eggs where people were frantically grabbing at cartons as if they were on the sales rack at Ross. The reason for all the excitement was that Scolari’s was having a big sale. One dozen large AA eggs were selling for 98¢. The advertised special was for Sunnyside, but they had all been sold. As a good gesture, Scolari’s was offering Rosemary Farms eggs at the same price.

Rosemary Farms, by the way, is Santa Barbara’s only commercial poultry business. Based in Santa Maria, they supply eggs to many of the local non-chain groceries. Not only do they produce normal eggs, but they also produce dozens and dozens of cage-free and organic eggs. The dedicated staff was a little perplexed why anyone would put an egg in a cage. There would seem to be little chance of an escape.

After touring our short list of grocery stores in town, we found an extreme variation in the price of eggs. While Scolari’s egg sale secured its place on the top of the list, it is noteworthy that Santa Cruz Market and Trader Joe’s are selling eggs for $1.19 and $1.29, respectively. As a chicken would say … “Cheap!”

The winner for egg robbery (can we call them robber chickens?) was Vons, who is apparently trying to re-COOP lost strike revenue by charging $3.49/dozen! Here is the complete list of prices:

Scolari’s

Milpas

$0.98

Santa Cruz

Castillo/Montecito

$1.19

Trader Joes

De La Vina

$1.29

Macs Market

Isla Vista

$1.79

Albertsons

Five Points

$2.29

Foodland

San Andres

$2.39

IV Market

Isla Vista

$2.39

Lazy Acres

Mesa

$2.49

Cantwells

State Street

$2.59

Gelsons

State Street

$2.59

Ralphs

Downtown

$2.69

Vons

La Cumbre

$3.49

No subscriber identified the top two and the bottom two egg prices in order. Subscriber SB93101 was the only one to have the top two and one of the seconds. SB93101 wins free movie tickets. We hear Cheaper by the Dozen is a good flick.

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