WASHINGTON — The annual White House tradition of rolling Easter eggs across the South Lawn is expected to proceed this year despite concern over egg prices and strain on supply in recent months due to avian flu, a decision that’s getting mixed reviews from American egg farmers.
“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,” President Donald Trump said Wednesday in remarks announcing his new tariffs. The White House did not respond to a request for clarification about who was telling him not to use real eggs.
The Easter Egg Roll, scheduled for April 21, will feature 30,000 eggs for White House guests to decorate and use in games, according to the American Egg Board. The industry group has provided the eggs for the event for years, relying on donations from farmers across the country.
The board had several internal conversations about the optics of providing tens of thousands of eggs for the Easter Egg Roll given the burden egg farmers have faced, according to a person familiar with the planning, but decided to supply the event as usual.
Emily Metz, the president and CEO of the Egg Board, said in a statement that using real eggs this year for rolling along the South Lawn “will not create additional strain on the nation’s egg supply or egg prices.”
“The heart of this event is about bringing joy to children and families, and in these difficult times for egg farmers, it’s important to celebrate wherever we can,” Metz said.
Some egg farmers agree.
“I don’t think that they should use fake eggs for it,” said Marty Thomas, a co-owner of Kakadoodle egg farm, which lost its 3,000-hen flock to bird flu in January and is not able to donate eggs.
“And it’s not like they’re using millions of eggs for this egg roll. It’s a fun thing,” he added.
But Vanessa Frias, owner and head farmer of Willowbrook Farms in Michigan, said she does not think the White House should use real eggs this year because of months of a supply shortage.
“Those eggs need to go in people’s bellies, and it needs to feed our families here in the United States, not to be played with,” she said.
Frias said her farm has about 500 egg layers in addition to thousands of meat chickens, none of which have been affected by bird flu. She said she expects the egg shortage will create higher demand for her farm during this spring’s market season.
“Because of the shortage, I don’t think it makes sense to waste our eggs on an event that isn’t giving anything,” she said. “I could see if the eggs were going to a cause or going to feed people, but to roll them across the lawn, I don’t think that makes any sense. It’s a waste.”
A person familiar with the White House’s plans confirmed the event will use real eggs. And the Egg Board has been insistent on using real eggs, according to a second person familiar with White House event planning.
Bird flu has affected 168 million birds across the United States since the outbreak started in February 2022, according to the Agriculture Department. The outbreak has led to a short supply of hens, contributing to higher egg prices.
While egg shortages and high prices have affected people across the country for months, prices have declined in recent weeks, although they remain higher than is typical. The average cost of a dozen large white eggs is now $3, compared with an all-time high of $8.64 on March 5, according to the Agriculture Department.
The number of eggs at this year’s Easter Egg Roll — 2,500 dozen — is consistent with the number used in previous years. Farmers could donate even more eggs for the White House to use as ingredients to make food it offers at the event, according to the American Egg Board.
Metz said in her statement that the eggs at the Easter Egg Roll “represent a very small percentage of the nearly nine million dozen eggs sold at grocers and other retailers across the country each day.”
“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.
The Trump administration has taken some steps to try to address egg cost and supply issues.
Thomas said that with the Agriculture Department’s permission, Kakadoodle egg farm is able to continue its online farmers market service, partnering with other small producers as it waits to rebuild its flock once the quarantine period ends.
Wayne Skinner, a former director of the White House Visitors Office who planned the Easter Egg Rolls for multiple presidencies, said that during President Joe Biden’s administration, the Egg Board started a program in which egg farmers donate one egg to their local food bank for every egg they donate to the White House.
Dragan Kurbalija and Kevin Graham, who operate a 27-acre farm in northern Virginia, are among those who have donated to food banks; they have not donated for the White House Easter Egg Roll.
Kurbalija and Graham, who have racked up more than 82,000 followers on TikTok under the handle “Gardening Gays,” had to increase the price of their eggs for the first time amid increasingly high demand. Still, Kurbalija said, farmers “shouldn’t fall back from our traditions and then our goodwill of donating stuff.”
“I think farmers will always look through those and persevere through those and will always come on top when it comes to just being a good Samaritan and doing something for a good cause,” Kurbalija said.
