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The bird flu outbreak started three years ago and continues to rage today, per NPR. It’s part of the reason behind soaring egg prices across the nation. Now, Waffle House is choosing not to bear the high costs alone. Instead, the breakfast chain is relying on its diners for the extracoins to keep cooking eggs!
According to the Associated Press, WH has already added the temporary $0.50 per egg surcharge to all of its menus. The breakfast joint operates in at least 25 states and has over 1,900 restaurants. All will be impacted.
Still, Waffle House plans to monitor the rollercoaster situation of eggs and the bird flu outbreak. However, it has no idea when the company will drop the surcharge from menus or if it plans to tax any other ingredients.
“While we hope these price fluctuations will be short-lived, we cannot predict how long this shortage will last,” the company said, per AP.
To combat the bird flu outbreak, farmers have had to slaughter and dispose of millions of chickens. After the killing comes sanitation and months of monitoring, per NPR. As Easter approachesa HUGE day for eggsthe outbreak has continued to rage. As a result, the Agriculture Department has predicted that prices will increase by another 20% this year. In December, the average cost across the country reportedly stood at $4.15 for a dozen eggs.
So far, one person has passed away from bird flu symptoms. That incident occurred in Louisiana in January and was the first reported U.S. fatality related to the outbreak. However, there have been at least 67 confirmed infections in humans since last year.
And chickens aren’t the only ones at risk! The H5N1 bird flu can also impact cows, wild birds, and other poultry, such as turkeys.
Meanwhile, on X (formerly Twitter), diners are cuttin’ up over the news of the eggs surcharge.
So, egg costs are rising and Waffle House chose a controversial solution. Meanwhile, folks are out here ADDING to the crisis caused by the bird flu outbreak. According to PEOPLE, a distribution trailer was robbed of about 100,000 eggs on Feb. 1. As expected, the price tag on such a large order is about $40,000. The incident happened in Pennsylvania at Pete & Gerry’s Organics, but local police are still investigating.
In a statement, the company said, “Pete & Gerrys is aware of a recent incident in Franklin County, Pa., and we are actively working with local law enforcement to investigate. We take this matter seriously and are committed to resolving it as quickly as possible. Due to the ongoing investigation we cannot comment any further on this matter.”
