In February of 2022, an outbreak of bird flu began at an Indiana turkey farm, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

Since then, more than 166 million chickens, ducks and turkeys across the country have died.

Today, as chickens continue to die by the millions, egg shortages have left retailers and food banks struggling to meet demand.

Oregon State University’s Basic Needs Center operates Beaver Healthy Boost, formerly Healthy Beaver Bag, a food giveaway program that offers staple ingredients, produce and specialty foods. 

According to Roman Quick, a fourth-year sociology and public policy major who works as a peer navigator at the BNC, eggs and yogurt are always included in the giveaway. 

“We’ve been running into a little bit of an issue where our egg distributor … hasn’t been able to consistently offer us the eggs that we need to run that program,” Quick said. “We try to supplement with other things, we’ve been trying out milk and whatever we can get our hands on to fill that gap.”

The BNC also operates a food pantry, open on Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and available to students, faculty and community members, according to Quick. The pantry gets food from Linn Benton Food Share, as well as through outside suppliers using donated funds.

While the BNC’s egg supplier hasn’t said it directly, Quick said it’s assumed the lack of eggs has been due to the ongoing shortages. 

“We’re ordering maybe 475 cartons of eggs to be given away during pantry and Healthy Beaver Boost, and … we got this week around 340,” Quick said. “Last week, we didn’t get any.”

Demand for eggs from the BNC, on the other hand, has been trending up as rising grocery store prices have made it more difficult for some students to afford them. 

The food pantry as a whole has seen higher usage. According to Quick, a turnout above 400 would have been considered high last year, while this year, the pantry regularly receives over 500 visitors. 

Beaver Healthy Boost has seen changes as well, with the BNC having to cap the number of weekly recipients to 200. 

“(We’re) trying to build our systems for the long term, knowing that things are going to get more expensive,” Quick said.   

Since the BNC’s food pantry receives financial support through donations, it can rely less on Linn Benton Food Share than other food pantries, where shortages are being felt harder, according to Quick.  

Quick said that during the COVID-19 pandemic, food banks saw an increase in donations of food and money, and an uptick in volunteers. While demand rises, these resources are running out.

“(Other food banks) seem to think it’s only going to get worse for a while,” Quick said.

The BNC would accept donations of eggs, although Quick said their problem isn’t that they can’t afford them. Rather, there simply aren’t enough available.

Quick said that while prices remain high, the BNC will also focus on “skill-building” and helping students use outside programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

“The center is planning on hosting food security workshops and cooking classes, just trying to make sure that students are able to stay fed while things are getting more expensive,” Quick said.

For retailers, supply disruptions are a fact of life.

“Disruptions in the supply chain happen all the time, and since the pandemic, of course they’ve gotten worse,” said Chris Johnson, the merchandising manager at First Alternative Co-op.

Johnson said the store’s main distributor, UNFI, has begun to restrict the number of eggs stores can buy. UNFI distributes groceries to over 30,000 stores across North America, according to a UNFI press release, including as a supplier for Whole Foods.

While the co-op does get eggs from local producers, Bill Genné, the manager of the First Alternative Co-op North Store, said winter is the “low point” for egg production in the area.

Even with limits in place, there are still weeks when supplies of national egg brands can’t keep up. According to Johnson, the store has kept its shelves stocked using eggs from other distributors.

“They’re not necessarily the eggs that customers want to buy … but there’s eggs there,” Johnson said. “That’s our role, we’re gonna do whatever it takes to put eggs on the shelf that fit within our buying guidelines.” 

Genné said that the co-op’s guidelines are stricter than those of other stores, with the company preferring organic and local products.  

The co-op has seen price increases from some brands, although Johnson said these were expected.

“All of these farms are losing millions and millions and millions and millions of birds,” Johnson said.

The influenza virus responsible for the current bird flu outbreak is considered to be a highly pathogenic avian influenza strain, according to the USDA’s website. This means that, in chickens, it’s deadly and capable of killing off a flock in a few days. 

“When the flu is found at a farm, they have to cull the entire flock, so where one bird has it and there’s a thousand birds all thousand birds are gone,” Johnson said. “They have to make their money back to get these chickens back.”

In January, more than 23 million birds nationwide either died of bird flu or were culled to contain the spread of it, according to data from the USDA.

In a recent interview with CBS News, Trump executive official Kevin Hassett said the administration planned to move away from the strategy of culling to focus on “biosecurity and medication.” Layoffs at the USDA, however, may impact the federal bird flu response, with the AP reporting the agency is working to undo the termination of several employees involved. 

In January, the USDA predicted egg prices will rise by about 20% this year, while food prices overall were only expected to rise by 2.2%.

“It’s a lot on top of the significant inflation that happened, so there’s no doubt food prices have gone up tremendously,” Genné said.

Johnson and Genné said the virus, which has spread to cattle, is impacting supplies of beef and dairy as well. 

Shortages of poultry products can lead to more customers buying alternatives, such as pork, which leaves fewer of these substitutes available, according to Genné. Egg shortages also impact the store’s ability to make and sell baked goods.

Genné said that the store keeps customers updated on shortages through in-store signage and, in extreme cases, through the co-op’s website.

“We’re doing what we can to educate ourselves and our staff so that we can have those conversations in the aisle with our customer,” Johnson said.