| I've always wanted to own chickens. This is entirely because they're cute and has nothing to do with the fact that they make food. But now that eggs are $6 a carton, I'm considering defying my HOA and setting up a coop in my backyard. So what's the story behind the sudden jump in egg prices? According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the lingering spike in prices is partly due to continued outbreaks of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus in commercial table eggs, my colleague Ryan Nickerson reports. Since February, HPAI has led to the depopulation of nearly 40 million hens. In layman's terms, all the birds got the flu and died. Which, in addition to being incredibly sad, has jacked up the price on eggs. The egg shortage is the latest in an ongoing trend of rising food costs. The cost of groceries has risen 13.5 percent nationally since August 2021, the Labor Department said, with notable increases in the prices of staples such as meat, dairy, and eggs — which have risen nearly 40 percent, my fellow reporter Erica Grieder writes. And while the crisis is not quite to the point where I start hiding chickens and maybe goats in my garage, it does have me looking at things like growing my own fruit trees. What are your thoughts on the egg shortage and growing cost of groceries? Are you making any changes to save money on groceries? Let me know your thoughts at claire.goodman@chron.com. | 
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