Why were 30,000 eggs used at White House egg roll when there is a bird flu, egg crisis?
Children and families were expected to use 30,000 real eggs at the White House Easter Egg Roll on April 21 as retail egg prices remain higher than normal and egg supplies continue their recovery amid a bird flu crisis.
Wholesale egg prices have continued to drop, as they have since mid-March, but the steep decreases have not yet fully been reflected at the grocery store. The eggs used at the White House event were donated by farmers and are not in sizes meant for retail and grocery channels, the American Egg Board said.
The annual White House tradition dates back to 1878 when Rutherford B. Hayes issued an order that allowed children to roll eggs down the White House lawn after banning them from using the White House grounds as a playground two years earlier.
What is the White House Easter egg roll?
The White House South Lawn is opened once a year for families and children chosen in an online lottery to roll colorfully painted eggs and join in other activities. President Donald Trump, in remarks during the roll, said about 42,000 guests were expected throughout the day.
Families with children under 13 joined Trump, the first lady, White House staff and their families for the 147th edition of the egg roll.
In a new controversial twist that has raised ethics concerns, the 2025 egg roll is the first iteration of the tradition to be open to corporate sponsorships. The decision led some Trump opponents to suggest it is an ethics violation. Proceeds from companies that paid for their names to be attached to the event benefit the nonprofit White House Historical Association, the lead organizer of the egg roll.
The country's largest tech companies make up some of the corporate sponsors, according to a list released by the White House, including Amazon, Meta and YouTube.
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Why were real eggs used instead of plastic eggs at White House egg roll?
NBC News reported that the egg roll would use real eggs even as bird flu continues to cause supply constraints that have sent prices soaring.
"They were saying that for Easter, ‘please don’t use eggs. Could you use plastic eggs?’ I say we don’t want to do that," NBC quoted Trump as saying in early April.
The 30,000 real eggs, or 2,500 dozen, are donated every year by egg farmers represented by the American Egg Board.
In a news release, American Egg Board President and CEO Emily Metz said the eggs for the White House event would "not create additional strain on the nation's egg supply or egg prices."
The eggs represent a small percentage of the nearly 9 million dozen eggs, or 108 million eggs, sold at retail stores each day, Metz said.
"Additionally, the eggs used for the White House Easter Egg Roll will be in sizes small and medium, which are not meant for the retail and grocery channels,” she said.
What is going on with egg prices?
The price of eggs has continued to be volatile, even as wholesale egg prices in recent weeks have declined and demand for eggs increased with the Passover and Easter holidays. The rise in prices and supply constraints have been largely driven by the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu.
But egg prices at the grocery store, prices reported in some data reports like the consumer price index and prices on the wholesale market don't always match, Paste BN reported.
For instance, the latest consumer price index, released April 10 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, shows the highest price for a dozen large grade A eggs since the price hikes began.
But that price and the CPI cost of eggs overall, which was up 5.9% in March, may not accurately reflect the drop in wholesale prices that started in the middle of the month. The index is an average of data collected through the month and retail prices were higher at the beginning of March, one expert said.
Additionally, retailers may not have dropped prices of eggs proportionately with the drop in the wholesale egg market, which may have to do with retailers wanting to take advantage of worries about scarcity to keep prices high, particularly with the demand for Easter, some experts say.
What's the latest on egg prices?
According to the CPI, the average U.S. city price of a dozen large Grade A eggs at retail stores, not seasonally adjusted for March, was $6.23. That's up from $5.90 in February and $4.95 in January.
In the latest weekly report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on April 18, the average wholesale price of loose, white large shell eggs was $3.14 a dozen, up slightly from $3.08 a dozen reported on April 11 but lower than the $3.26 a dozen reported April 4.
The CPI is a lagging indicator, and it takes some time for wholesale prices to be reflected in the grocery store, industry experts have told Paste BN. Plus, some retailers are using pricing strategies to keep egg prices elevated or aren't reducing prices to match lower wholesale costs as quickly as other goods, some said.
How much you pay for eggs varies widely depending on where you live. Data gathered by Paste BN shows the prices on April 21 at several retail stores in Wildwood, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, for instance, are lower than the U.S. city average reported in the March CPI, released April 10.
Prices for a dozen large Grade A eggs at an Aldi, Costco, Kroger, Target, Sam's Club, Walmart and Whole Foods on April 21 ranged from a low of $4.19 at Whole Foods to a high of $5.49 at Aldi. The Whole Foods price was taken from the grocer's website, and the Aldi price was from Instacart. Instacart prices are set by the grocer. The high and low prices match the prices gathered April 10.
Contributing: John Heasly, James Powel, Joey Garrison and Bart Jansen
This story has been updated to fix a typo
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher and @blinfisher.bsky.social on Bluesky. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.