Review: A Quest to Find the Cheapest Eggs in the Albion Area

Three rows of refrigerated shelving on the wall of a grocery store, with a sign above it reading “Eggs.” Several egg cartons sit on the shelves, but the majority of the space is empty. — The Jackson Walmart’s egg section, consisting of mostly empty shelves. Nearby grocery stores have increased the price of eggs due to bird flu and Michigan’s cage-free egg law (Photo by Heidi Faramelli).

Amid bird flu and Michigan’s recently passed cage-free egg law, egg prices have been on the rise. You’re likely aware of this, unless you’ve built a home for yourself under a rock recently, or you’re a vegan. Honestly, no judgment either way.

While doom-scrolling one day, I stumbled across a video of a semi-truck crash that destroyed hundreds of eggs. My first thought was concern for the eggs, and I knew it was time for part two of one of my first and favorite articles. Hence, I present to you: Heidi travels to Jackson and ranks egg prices in order of their distance from Albion College… It’s a working title.

Score Breakdown:

Distance from Albion: 5 points

Egg price: 10 points

Egg availability: 3 points

Total: 18 points

A carton of eggs sits open on a shelf with other cartons, with a price tag below the eggs reading “New Lower Price $5.19”. Above the shelf of eggs is a sign with a dark red border and a top line that reads “Limit 2 packages per customer.” — A shelf of eggs at Albion’s Family Fare. Some Michigan grocery stores have begun limiting the number of eggs customers can buy (Photo illustration by Heidi Faramelli).

Family Fare: 1406 N. Eaton St., Albion ~1.5 Miles From Campus

I have to start off with good ‘ol Family Fare. Don’t we all just love this local gem? It’s 1.8 miles from campus, doesn’t have the variety that Jackson stores do and it’s expensive. But, at least the cashiers are always friendly.

Grumbling aside, the price of Family Fare’s eggs was $5.19/dozen. Note: For all of these ratings, I’ll just be looking at cage-free, large white eggs, so if you’re one of those fancy pants all-natural types, keep that in mind.

The total score here was 10/18. Decent, considering it’s one of our only “walkable” grocery stores, aside from Superior Street Mercantile, which is closer, but not included in this review due to a lack of time.

An interesting note was that Family Fare limited the number of eggs to two packages per customer, for which I docked a point in the availability category. If you have to get eggs here, you’ll survive, but the $269.88 you would spend annually if you bought a carton a week might hurt your pocketbook.

Distance from Albion: 5/5

Egg price: 3/10

Egg availability: 2/3

Total: 10/18

Meijer: 2777 Airport Rd., Jackson ~16 Miles From Campus

A big yellow sign with the price $4.99 displayed on it stuck on the glass in front of stacks of egg cartons. — Meijer displays an egg cost that’s the second cheapest of the stores visited. But, second place is the first loser, so tough luck (Photo by Heidi Faramelli).

Every time I walk into Meijer, I feel at home. Being from the small town of Angola, Indiana, it’s one of my only local stores and I love its variety. It’s usually a bit pricey but was surprisingly the second-cheapest location of my egg expedition.

Meijer’s price was $4.99/dozen. Being a 16 mile drive from campus, I’d say it’s worth the gas money to save the 40 cents from Family Fare’s eggs… but, I’m an English major who uses girl math, so in reality that probably isn’t true.

Distance from Albion: 4/5

Egg price: 7/10

Egg availability: 3/3

Total: 14/18

Target: 1076 Jackson Crossing, Jackson ~17.5 Miles From Campus

Several brown cartons of eggs stacked on top of each other, with a white price tag sticker in the bottom left corner that reads $5.49. — Target’s brand may be called Good & Gather, but what’s so good about being the most expensive cost on the list? We’re all broke, Target, lower your prices (Photo by Heidi Faramelli).

Recently, news sites like CNN have been covering Target stepping back from DEI initiatives. I’m disappointed, but you already know how the Pleiad feels about that.

Anyway, about eggs. The only reason this egg price didn’t get a zero was that I know in California recently a dozen eggs were $9.32, so it could be worse. Target’s price was $5.49/dozen, and they’re 17 miles from campus. With these two factors considered, it’s no wonder that it scored a 7/18.

Distance from Albion: 3/5

Egg price: 1/10

Egg availability: 3/3

Total: 7/18

Walmart: 1700 W. Michigan Ave., Jackson ~18 Miles From Campus

First of all, can we just take in the utter desolation of Walmart’s egg section? I mean, those eggs look lonelier than Tom Hanks in “Cast Away.” At least he had Wilson; all the eggs have are their bald-headed relatives and a dream to make it out of this small town… I mean, refrigerator.

Walmart’s price was $5.23/dozen, and it’s 18 miles from campus. Having the second-most expensive eggs and being the second farthest from campus is not a great look. Walmart, do better. The total score was 4.5/18, so congrats on being the biggest loser, I guess?

Distance from Albion: 2/5

Egg price: 2/10

Egg availability: 0.5/3

Total: 4.5/18

Aldi: 1100 W. North St., Jackson ~18 Miles From Campus

A sign reading “Eggs, 4.49, Limit 2” is displayed on a glass door to a cooler full of egg cartons. Two smaller signs below describe prices rising due to Michigan’s cage-free egg law and recent market conditions. — Aldi went big and bold with their price, as well as their limit for purchasing and their reasoning behind it. They’re difficult to beat in the rating, having the lowest price (Photo by Heidi Faramelli).

Aldi, my beloved. This is my go-to grocery store. It’s got healthy and cheap options, so it’s no wonder that they won first place for egg cost. Interestingly, they were the only one of the five stores I visited to mention the cage-free egg law directly. Kudos to Aldi for communicating better than my high school ex-boyfriend.

Scoring for Aldi went egg-cellently. Come on, did you really think you’d get away without an egg pun? You knew egg-xactly what you were getting yourself into when you clicked on this article. Aldi scored a 12.5/18. If it weren’t 18 miles away, they’d be the crowned victors. Aldi, you’re the winner in my heart.

Distance from Albion: 1.5/5

Egg price: 9/10

Egg availability: 2/3

Total: 12.5/18

So, Where Should I Buy Eggs?

Great question, loyal reader. Based on my scoring system alone, Meijer closely beat out Aldi by one and a half points. However, in terms of price, Aldi takes the cake with egg prices at least 50 cents fewer than all of its competitors.

Ultimately, it’s up to you. You’re holding the fate of the egg in your hands. Just make sure you don’t drop it! After all, Humpty Dumpty taught us the horrors that can unfold from a broken egg.