Mission, Kansas (AP) – Egg Price Stubbornly High, the internet offers many alternatives, crafters paint rocks and influencers dye everything from marshmallows to potatoes.
“We’ve finally used a B-sized potato!!” wrote one commenter in response to a video posted on Facebook.
But among those posting laughing emojis, lol and simply “huh”, there was a lot of interest from price-sensitive parents. US Egg Prices It rose again last month, reaching a new record high of $6.23 per dozen. There may be relief. There is evidence that prices are falling, and grocery stores may start offering discounts to take shoppers to the door.
But even so, egg prices are higher than ever. There is the idea of coloring potatoes and rocks. This was the first round to make it after a surge in prices in 2023.
Marshmallows and potatoes dye the video to make it work
One of the circulating videos shows mom grinning and filling a can of cupcakes with dye. Her child then skewered the marshmallows with a toothpick before gently lowering them to the dye, proudly displaying the piece on a glass platter. Another influencer dipped marshmallows into yellow food colouring, lightly digging black icing dots to make eyes, and attaching orange M&M for the nose and feet to create a marshmallow chick.
In other videos, shoppers pick munched potato bags from the shelf along with egg dye.
“Potatoes are about the only thing I can afford,” posted one thanked online commenter. Another boiled it down into a single response: “cheap.”
Foil eggs become a new tradition for a family
Chicago’s dye Kelly Friedle dyes eggs for Easter with her two children each year. But for this year’s high prices, she came up with something else: foil eggs. Cut the egg shape from cardboard and wrap it in foil and you can decorate the eggs to reuse.
“Our mom used to buy three dozen eggs,” said Friedl, 59. “I don’t think we’ve eaten all of the eggs, but that’s a memory of doing something with your mom.”
For many families like Friedle, eggs that dye eggs are not about eating eggs. So, outside of the 2015 avian flu outbreak and current outbreak, if dozens of costs were under $2, it was not a big deal to make some worse in the fridge. But not now.
Paas, a supplier of egg dyeing kits, said 94% of people celebrating Easter this year will dye their eggs, but 78% of families say it costs more than they’ve seen in the past few years.
Plastic eggs, craft kits and other holiday fun
Craft retailer Michaels said their craft egg kits were flying off the shelf. Melissa Mills, senior vice president and general merchandising manager, said sales for the two kits were up 20% at the same time last year.
Walmart, the country’s largest retailer, declined to comment on the sale of dyeable plastic eggs and other alternatives, but said it wasn’t the first year it carried them. Among several options for shoppers is a carton of 12 plastic eggs, including four liquid dye packets and four egg dye bags and playdough Easter eggs.
Despite the changes in tradition, Friedl families look forward to the holidays.
“We are a super crafty family and the most valuable gift in our home is the gift someone made you,” Friedle said. “We get together every year and we love it.”
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Dee-Ann Durbin, Caroll Hannah and Josh Funk contributed to this report. Raza reported from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
