PAPILLION, Neb. (KMTV) - — With Thanksgiving approaching, Nebraskans might be excited to gather around the table and make their favorite dishes. But items in your grocery cart could be more expensive this season — specifically eggs.
Baker Kathy Harlow is noticing it. For her, baking is not just a passion, it's her source of income. She's the owner and creator of a business selling baked goods called Kathy's Kreations.
"My cookies are the best. I can promise you that," Harlow said.
In the month of December, she is usually baking them every day to get them fresh and into the hands of customers. But the egg shortage is not making it easy for her to prepare for the holiday season.
"They're expensive. I was just thinking yesterday, I could go to Restaurant Depot in 2020 and buy 15 dozen eggs for $12 and now, it's like $4 a dozen and I can't just buy a dozen at a time. I go through six, ten, twelve dozen."
Prices for traditional Thanksgiving items like eggs, butter and flour are all going up. A report from Wells Fargo says the price of eggs are increasing by more than 32% compared to last year.
This comes after one of the worst outbreaks of avian flu in the country. The CDC reports more than 50 million birds have been affected by the virus since early February and that's leading to a decline in egg production.
For her business, Harlow's family has to visit four to five stores in one shopping trip just to get all the eggs she needs.
"It's frustrating, but it's also just disbelief," Harlow said. "We live right here in the Midwest where everything is economical for us — it's not like California or New York — and we can't just walk into a store and buy eggs."
In Springfield, Amber Gregg raises between 30 and 40 chickens and uses the eggs for baking.
"I'm the crazy chicken lady," Gregg jokes.
But the shortage is impacting her in other ways.
"I've seen a lot of my coworkers and my family members text me all the time, 'Hey, do you have extra eggs? Can we buy extra eggs from you? More and more every day,'" Gregg said.
Gregg usually sells them for $3 a dozen. As Gregg does her part to help others, Harlow worries about maintaining her livelihood.
"I can't imagine telling a customer, 'I'm sorry I can't get you cookies' or 'Can't get you a cake' because there's no eggs," Gregg said.
Fruits and vegetables have the lowest cost increase compared to other food products, with an increase of more than 7%.
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