Eggs ease, menus still up

Egg prices fell again in March, but restaurant prices kept climbing. (bls.gov) The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the egg index dropped 3.4 percent from February to March, helping pull the broader meats, poultry, fish, and eggs category down 0.6 percent for the month. Food at home fell 0.2 percent in March, while food away from home rose 0.2 percent. (bls.gov) Over the past 12 months through March, food away from home was up 3.8 percent, outpacing the 2.4 percent annual increase for food at home. The same March report showed full-service meals up 4.0 percent from a year earlier and limited-service meals up 3.4 percent. (bls.gov) That split leaves shoppers seeing one trend in the grocery aisle and another on restaurant menus. The United States Department of Agriculture said in March that food-at-home prices are projected to rise 2.5 percent in 2026, while food-away-from-home prices are projected to rise 3.7 percent. (fooddive.com) Eggs have been moving fastest in the opposite direction. WXPR, citing reporting published March 13, said supermarket egg prices were down 42 percent from a year earlier after avian flu caused far less damage to laying-hen flocks this winter than it did a year ago. (wxpr.org) Restaurants are dealing with costs that do not fall as quickly as a single ingredient. In March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said energy rose 10.9 percent in a single month, led by a 21.2 percent jump in gasoline, and WXPR reported in March that diesel had climbed to just under $5 a gallon. (bls.gov; wxpr.org) Food companies have also been warning about higher protein and freight bills. Conagra said in July 2025 that animal proteins including beef, chicken, pork, eggs, and turkey were expected to have the “single biggest impact” on its inflation outlook, and Hormel said in December 2025 that beef costs would remain high through fiscal 2026. (fooddive.com; fooddive.com) That helps explain why a cheaper carton of eggs does not translate into a cheaper plate of food. Menu prices reflect rent, wages, fuel, meat, and distribution costs that move on different schedules than the egg case at a supermarket. (bls.gov; fooddive.com) The public argument over dining costs has moved beyond breakfast staples. The New York Times reported on April 13 that a $40 half-chicken at a Brooklyn restaurant had become a shorthand in food culture for how expensive eating out now feels, even as some grocery items cool. (nytimes.com) March’s inflation data captured the same tension in official numbers: eggs got cheaper, and eating out did not. (bls.gov; bls.gov)