Arizonans flock to farm-raised eggs as prices soar at grocery stores

BUCKEYE, AZ (AZFamily) — With the increasing egg prices at the grocery store Buckeye ranch owner Linda Whitehead said the demand for her farm fresh eggs is on the rise.

“I get texts all day long, I get messages, people calling, me everyone asking for eggs. People at work know I have chickens, so they are asking me for eggs it’s been crazy,” said Whitehead.

She has 25 chickens at Lil Red Barn Ranch and every day they lay around a dozen or more eggs. This is more than she needs, so about a year ago, she hatched up a creative way to sell them.

Whitehead built a self-serving farm stand to sell all her farm goods while she works at her regular job.

“We have jam. We have cowboy candy. I make homemade relish, salsas and soap,” she said.

The eggs have people flocking to the stand. At $5 a dozen, she sells out quickly following her 5 p.m. daily restock.

She relies on the honor system for people to pay. All the prices are listed inside the stand. Whitehead offers a lot of cashless options but if you only have cash there is an option for that too.

As of right now, she has no plans to increase the price.

“I pretty much break even. It pays for my feed so I can enjoy my chickens,” said Whitehead.

With bird flu cases being reported across the country, Whitehead said she’s not concerned. Her chickens are kept in an area built to protect them from predators like hawks, which she feels would keep any bird infected with the flu away.

For more information about Whitehead’s farm stand, click/tap here.

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