- With Easter weekend starting on April 18, many egg hunts will be taking place. Due to extremely high egg prices, many people and businesses are substituting potatoes this year in place of eggs.
- Businesses have even gone on social media, touting how potatoes look similar to eggs when colored.
- Others are using colored plastic eggs for egg hunts and putting a prize inside the substitute eggs.
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With the price of eggs still soaring, many organizers of Easter egg hunts during the weekend of April 18 have been forced to find different ways to have fun without breaking their budget. Some are substituting potatoes for eggs, commenting that they look similar when painted.
Rose Atwater, on her website Rose Bakes, said, “Small potatoes or baby potatoes have sort of an egg shape and they’re a lot of fun to look at! So let’s color potatoes for Easter!”
How expensive have eggs become?
As Straight Arrow News has been reporting, the latest strain of bird flu has led to the slaughter of millions of birds leading to a further shortage of eggs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average price of a dozen was $4.95 in January, $5.90 in February and $6.23 in March.
“Even though shell egg demand is improving into the final week ahead of Easter weekend, it continues to lag behind current expectations and past Easter trends,” the U.S Agriculture Department noted.
With egg prices still rising, it may be time for the potato to shine. It’s becoming a bit of a trend. The Craft Patch, on its Facebook page, has a picture of Easter egg potatoes of all different colors.
“Skip those expensive eggs and dye potatoes for Easter instead!” the caption reads.
The picture includes eggs with smiley faces winking in approval.
How else are businesses dealing with high egg prices?
Others are getting creative as well. The New York Times featured John Young from Young’s Jersey Dairy in Ohio. Normally, his family buys 10,000 eggs for its annual Easter egg hunt, which about 2,000 people attend.
This year, for the first time in the tradition’s 40-year history, organizers instead bought plastic eggs of varying colors. Eggs have a bit of weight to them, so instead of leaving the plastic eggs empty and hollow, organizers have included a coupon for a free ride on the carousel. He said the responses have been positive, as many locals feared that the annual egg hunt might be canceled.
