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Express Tribune
16-04-2025
- Lifestyle
- Express Tribune
Easter on a budget: Americans swap eggs for potatoes
A photo posted in February by @rosebakes on shows potatoes decorated for Easter. With egg prices still stubbornly high, many Americans are looking for alternatives to some of their favourite traditions. (@rosebakes/Instagram Listen to article As egg prices soar to record highs ahead of Easter, many Americans are turning to unconventional alternatives like potatoes and marshmallows to keep festive traditions alive. The average cost of a dozen eggs in the US hit $6.23 in March, driven by inflation and ongoing disruptions from a bird flu outbreak among laying hens. The spike in prices has prompted families to forgo traditional egg decorating in favour of dyeing more affordable items. On social media, Easter craft hacks have gone viral. Popular influencers are painting baby potatoes, dipping jumbo marshmallows in food colouring, and even baking egg-shaped brownies. 'Small potatoes or baby potatoes have sort of an egg shape and they're a lot of fun to look at,' wrote blogger Rose Atwater. One viral video shows a mother swapping eggs for spuds, drawing smiles from children armed with markers. Lifestyle content creators like The Spruce and Crowded Kitchen are also promoting alternatives like clay, pasta shells, and peanut butter-filled sweets. Retailers have reported brisk sales of plastic egg kits and other non-perishable alternatives. Craft chain Michaels said its Easter kits are up 20% from last year. Walmart also confirmed its shelves are stocked with reusable dyeable eggs and Easter-themed toys. While President Donald Trump has said the White House Easter Egg Roll will still feature real eggs, the US Department of Agriculture noted a drop in grocers offering promotions. The USDA described this year's demand as "lagging behind expectations." With inflation continuing to squeeze holiday budgets, many families are embracing the shift. 'I actually enjoyed dyeing marshmallows more than eggs,' said influencer Rachel Anderson in a widely shared video. Others say potatoes are the new egg – at least for 2025. Trays of coloured Easter eggs are displayed during the annual Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on April 18, 2022. This year, despite the price of eggs, U.S. President Donald Trump has said he plans to still use real eggs. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
CBC
15-04-2025
- Lifestyle
- CBC
Eggs are so expensive that some Americans are decorating potatoes this Easter
Hippity, hoppity, Easter's on its way, but people in the U.S. may have to think outside the basket this year. Eggs tend to be a staple for Easter celebrations, whether they're being decorated with bright paints, rolled across the lawn of the White House, deviled and displayed on a platter, or baked into quiches and served with brunch. But with U.S. egg prices still stubbornly high amid an outbreak of bird flu in laying hens that led to a severe egg shortage, many Americans are looking for alternatives to some of their favourite traditions. Last month, U.S. egg prices increased again to reach a new record-high average of $6.23 US per dozen, or $8.73 Cdn. Luckily, influencers have stepped up to the challenge when it comes to decorating eggs, dyeing everything from marshmallows to potatoes. One popular TikTok video by lifestyle and home design site The Spruce offers five alternatives to decorating real eggs, including painting pasta shells, painting potatoes, and painting clay. In other videos that bemoan the current price of eggs, influencers decorate egg-shaped brownies, they dye marshmallows, and they paint rocks. "Small potatoes or baby potatoes have sort of an egg shape and and they're a lot of fun to look at! So let's colour potatoes for Easter!" writes Rose Atwater on her website Rose Bakes. "Eggs are way too expensive right now," explain the food bloggers behind Crowded Kitchen in a video for peanut butter eggs with more than one million likes on Instagram. "I actually enjoyed dyeing marshmallows more than eggs," wrote influencer Rachel Anderson in a viral Instagram video where she dips jumbo marshmallows in food colouring before displaying them on a platter. Record high prices With Easter just days away, the U.S.'s most recent egg price increase comes at a tough time. The March record of $6.23 US per dozen is up from about $5.90 US per dozen in February, and about $4.95 in January. By comparison, Canada's average retail price for a dozen eggs in February was $4.91 (or around $3.50 US), according to the most recent figures from Statistics Canada — roughly 40 per cent cheaper than if you bought them south of the border. The U.S. increase was reported last Thursday in the consumer price index. Overall, the index for food increased 0.4 per cent in March, which includes a 5.9 per cent increase in the index for eggs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the last 12 months, the index for eggs increased by 60.4 per cent. And while there is evidence that wholesale prices are falling, those haven't necessarily reached store shelves yet. "Even though shell egg demand is improving into the final marketing week ahead of Easter weekend, it continues to lag behind current expectations and past Easter trends," the U.S. Department of Agriculture wrote in its most recent weekly egg markets overview. "Retail grocers are largely opting out of running their usual annual holiday shell egg promotions this year as supplies have only recently recovered sufficiently to maintain a consistent offering; (it's) a situation few are willing to jeopardize through feature incentives." Potatoes prove popular Still, it seems you can't stop some traditions, even if it means getting creative. Craft retailer Michaels told The Associated Press their craft egg kits are flying off the shelves, with sales of two of the kits up 20 per cent compared to the same time last year. Walmart, the U.S.'s largest retailer, declined to comment on sales of dyeable plastic eggs and other alternatives, but said it wasn't the first year it carried them. Among some options for shoppers: a carton of 12 plastic eggs that include four liquid dye packets and four egg-dyeing bags and Play-Doh Easter eggs. Paas, a supplier of egg dyeing kits, shared an Instagram video earlier this month demonstrating how to dye marshmallows that give "major spring vibes ... no eggs required." And of course, some people are finding their own solutions online, where potatoes seem particularly popular. "Are potatoes the answer?" writes Orlando news site WESH 2. "Skip those expensive eggs and dye potatoes for Easter instead!" writes The Craft Patch on Facebook. And in a TikTok video set to It's the Hard Knock Life from the musical Annie, a mom heaves a bag of potatoes in her grocery cart, then shows her children colouring them with markers. "With egg prices, we might be dyeing Easter potatoes again," she wrote. WATCH | Can B.C. eggs escape Trump's tariffs? Can B.C. eggs escape Trump's tariffs? 12 days ago Duration 2:03 You could say that eggs are having their moment in the sun. With Trump's tariffs increasing the cost of most staples in shoppers' grocery carts, B.C. eggs are one of the few proteins that won't take a serious hit. Shelley Joyce reports from Kamloops.
