Fat Tuesday in Milwaukee; will egg prices impact pączki?
Will egg prices impact pączki?
The cost of eggs is skyrocketing this year. It could affect Milwaukee during a Fat Tuesday tradition: pączki.
MILWAUKEE - The cost of eggs is skyrocketing this year. It's something that is impacting the wallets of basically every American, and it could affect you during a Fat Tuesday tradition.
Local perspective:
At National Bakery in Milwaukee, it’s the Saturday morning calm before the storm of shoppers Tuesday morning.
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"It takes a lot of preparation and planning on everybody’s part," said Bryant Krauss, owner of National Bakery. "Fat Tuesday for us is probably the single busiest day with foot traffic that we have."
Krauss said pączki are behind the biggest day of the year, but this upcoming Pączki Day comes during a challenging time for bakeries.
National Bakery, Milwaukee
"We’ve been monitoring the prices of the eggs, they’ve clearly been going up a lot over time," Bryant said.
Big picture view:
Avian flu has ravaged flocks of hens. It has impacted the supply of eggs around the country, driving up prices. The U.S. Agriculture Department predicts record egg prices could soar by more than 40% in 2025.
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"We expect them to keep going up, but we know there has got to be an end to bird flu. Once it peaks, they’re going to come back down," said Bryant.
In a new plan, the USDA said it would spend up to half a billion dollars boosting biosafety precautions at egg farms.
Egg prices will climb even more this year, USDA says: See the data
Egg prices are going to get much worse this year, the Agriculture Department predicts. Here’s what they’re saying.
The Trump Administration said it's working to roll out a bird flu plan to solve the crisis.
FOX6 News asked National Bakery if people should expect to pay more for pączki on Tuesday morning.
"Here at National Bakery, just a very modest increase over last year. Not as much as some of the other people, or maybe not as much as we should have. We’re very sensitive to it," Bryant said.
The Source: FOX6 went to National Bakery in Milwaukee and talked to the owner. Data on egg prices is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).