Buying eggs in a food desert breaks bank for residents and business owners
Sara Bogart treks regularly to a grocery store one town over to load up on essentials as cheaply as possible. She has few choices for healthy food in her neighborhood, which the USDA classifies as a food desert.
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Groceries — namely eggs — are costing some people more money and time because of neighborhood they live in.
Residents of Middletown's west side told News 12 they have been spending up to $12 for a carton of eggs at convenience stores, which is the only option for some.
"I have a good retirement and I can't complain too much," west side resident Sara Bogart said, "but it takes everything I have to feed my family."
Bogart treks regularly to a grocery store one town over to load up on essentials as cheaply as possible.
She has few choices for healthy food in her neighborhood, which the USDA classifies as a food desert.
Food deserts tend to be lower-income, higher-unemployment areas without nearby affordable food options.
The lack of access — and now, high prices -- have Bogart checking her reserves.
"We're emptying out our freezer — things that have been in there for a year — that you just didn't want," she said. "You cook things now. You become a little bit more savvy at how you prepare meals."
Amber's Convenience Store and Deli on Route 211 is the only options for many locals to easily get staples like eggs.
The staff said, they too, are getting whacked on prices.
For a case of 120 eggs, in 2020, they would pay $9 wholesale; the price has since risen to about $115 per case.
The store is charging more for cartons, charging an extra dollars for sandwiches with eggs, and using fewer eggs in their eggs salad.
"It's nothing personal," store associate Adrianna Rivera said, "but everyone has to survive. We're kind of just following suit. It's a lot on both ends honestly."
Analysts blame high egg prices on the bird flu outbreak, which has forced farmers to destroy millions of chickens.
The Associated Press has reported that President Donald Trump's administration is looking into new ways to control bird flu without killing entire flocks and preventing further price increases
.The USDA still expects egg prices to rise another 20 percent this year.
