“Basically, what they are doing is destroying our local industry so that the international industry will survive.”
— Theresa Freund, manager of Freund’s Farm Market and Bakery
NORTH CANAAN — Theresa Freund gingerly removed a box containing 15 dozen large eggs from refrigeration. The fragile haul cost her $92 a week earlier.
“That’s 51 cents each … and that was a low number,” she explained during a Feb. 5 visit to Freund’s Farm Market and Bakery, which she oversees with her daughter, Rachel.
At last check, she said, the price for 15 dozen eggs had skyrocketed to $110, “and I bet it will be $120 next week,” predicted Freund, who uses them in a variety of baked goods made in her recently expanded commercial kitchen, as well as prepared food items like quiche.
After climbing in 2022 due to an outbreak of avian flu and dropping in 2023, the price of eggs has been steadily creeping up again and is expected to increase more than 20% this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Price Outlook released Jan. 24.
The federal agency reported that the wholesale cost for a dozen large Grade A eggs, which were $4.17 a dozen in November, has soared to a record $6.57. The agency predicted egg prices will climb by about 20% within the year, compared with a predicted 2.2% increase for overall food prices.
At the beginning of 2023, a dozen eggs cost an average of $4.82, the highest in the past decade, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The bird flu is to blame
This year’s egg shortage is linked to an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or bird flu, a virus found in wild bird species that is highly contagious among domestic poultry and has a mortality rate of nearly 100%.
To slow the spread of the virus the government has ordered millions of chickens slaughtered. Fewer egg-laying chickens means that consumers, and businesses, are shelling out more per dozen as demand exceeds supply.
At Collin’s Diner in North Canaan, a classic dining car style-diner built in 1940, the price of any menu item featuring eggs rose last week.
“I just raised the price on all my egg dishes by $1,” said Doonia Hamzy, whose family has owned the circa 1940’s diner for the past 55 years. “This is the first time I’ve raised my prices in six years.”
Hamzy said she shops locally every day for fresh eggs and the least expensive she has found is $13 for two dozen. The price hike, she said, is not intended to be permanent, and was a difficult, but necessary, decision to make.
“When the egg prices go down, so will my prices. That’s how we were raised.”
Nearby, four customers seated at the counter around lunchtime were nonplussed about paying a dollar more for an egg selection.
“It doesn’t bother me,” said Gary Ross, a piano technician from Falls Village, whose favorite dish is scrambled eggs with sauteed peppers and onions. “I come here just about every day,” he said, taking a sip from a hot cup o’ Joe.
The next stool over, Canaan resident Hope Dunham said she got sticker shock over the weekend after shelling out $7.50 for a dozen eggs at Dollar General in nearby Sheffield.
“It’s still cheaper for me to come here,” said Dunham. “Plus, I don’t have to cook … or clean up afterwards.”
Hamzy said she appreciates her customer’s support during these challenging times. “We live in an extremely supportive community. We are very blessed.”
The Freund flock in its protected enclosure.Debra A. Aleksinas
Surveillance testing for bird flu
The Connecticut Department of Agriculture conducts surveillance testing on domestic birds throughout the state. Testing for bird flu is available at low or no cost through a partnership with the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Connecticut.
The multi-generational Freund family farm in Canaan also keeps a flock of about 36 egg-laying chickens which were tested for the H5N1 bird flu virus by the state three weeks ago, the results of which came back negative.
Eggs from the family’s farm operation are sold by the dozen at its Farm Market but are not permitted to be used in the farm’s commercial kitchen, said Freund.
“The state Department of Agriculture tested them three weeks ago,” she said of her daughter, Rachel’s, egg-laying flock. “They banded and swabbed a sampling of about 20 birds.”
The virus is being spread as wild birds comingle with free-range birds in commercial and backyard poultry operations.
The Freund flock tested negative, as it has in the past, which its owners attribute to the chickens’ caged henhouse and enclosure, which protects them from contact with disease-carrying wild birds.
Why not vaccinate chickens?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture last week confirmed 81 detections of avian flu in wild birds collected across 24 states between Dec. 29 and Jan. 17.
Freund said health officials “have to do more” to protect domestic flocks from the deadly virus, including vaccination, which is currently not part of the federal government’s strategy because of trade concerns.
“Basically what they are doing is destroying our local industry so that the international industry will survive,” said Freund. “Things have to change. Millions of birds are being destroyed.”
On Jan. 15, Avian flu was confirmed in a backyard flock in New London County consisting of chickens, ducks and peacocks.
The flock of family pets, which had close contact with wild waterfowl in a nearby pond, was confirmed to be infected with bird flu, according to a Jan. 17 statement by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture.
“At this time there is no effective treatment or approved vaccine for the virus in poultry. The infected flock has been depopulated to prevent spread of the disease,” according to the state agricultural agency.
Signs of infection include a sudden increase in bird deaths, sneezing, coughing, nasal discharge, watery or green diarrhea, lack of energy, poor appetite, drop in egg production, swelling around the eyes, neck and head, and purple discoloration of wattles, combs and legs.
The current risk of infection from avian influenza to residents of Connecticut remains low, according to Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani.
“The CDC is currently monitoring numerous H5N1 cases throughout the country and tracking the spread of the virus in states where it has been identified in people or animals,” Juthani said.
Flock owners are encouraged to report anything unusual, especially sick or dead birds, to CT DoAg at (860) 713-2505 or ctstate.vet@ctgov, or USDA at (866) 536-7593.
The Stone Round Barn at Hancock Shaker Village.
My husband Tom, our friend Jim Jasper and I spent the day at Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. A cold, blustery wind shook the limbs of an ancient apple tree still clinging to golden fruit. Spitting sleet drove us inside for warmth, and the lusty smells of manure from the goats, sheep, pigs and chickens in the Stone Round Barn filled our senses. We traveled back in time down sparse hallways lined with endless peg racks. The winter light was slightly crooked through the panes of old glass. The quiet life of the Shakers is preserved simply.
Shakers referred to their farm as the City of Peace.Jennifer Almquist
Originally founded in England, the Shakers brought their communal religious society to the New World 250 years ago. They sought the perfection of heaven on earth through their values of equality and pacifism. They followed strict protocols of behavior and belief. They were celibate and never married, yet they loved singing and ecstatic dancing, or “shaking,” and often adopted orphans. To achieve their millennialist goal of transcendental rapture, we learned, even their bedclothes had to conform: One must sleep in a bed painted deep green with blue and white coverings.
Shakers believed in gender and racial equality and anointed their visionary founding leader, Mother Ann Lee, an illiterate yet wise woman, as the Second Coming. They embraced sustainability and created practical designs of great utility and beauty, such as the mail-order seed packet, the wood stove, the circular saw, the metal pen, the flat broom and wooden clothespins.
Jennifer Almquist
Blacksmith Peter Kergaravat at work.
Burning coal smelled acrid as the blacksmith fired up his stove to heat the metal rod he was transforming into a hook. Hammer on anvil is an ancient sound. My husband has blacksmithing skills and once made the strap hinges and thumb latches for a friend’s home.
Shaker chairs and rockers are still made today in the woodworker’s shop. They are well made and functional, with woven cloth or rush seats. In the communal living space, or Brick Dwelling, chairs hang from the Shaker pegs that run the length of the hallways, which once housed more than 100 Shakers.
A Shaker chair.Jennifer Almquist
In 1826, the 95-foot Round Stone Barn was built of limestone quarried from the land of the 3,000-acre Hancock Shaker Village. Its unique design allowed a continuous workflow. Fifty cows could stand in a circle facing one another and be fed more easily. Manure could be shoveled into a pit below and removed by wagon and there was more light and better ventilation.
Shakers called us the “people of the world” and referred to their farm as the City of Peace. We take lessons away with us, yearning somehow for their simplicity and close relationship to nature. One Shaker said, “There’s as much reverence in pulling an onion as there is in singing hallelujah.”
A sense of calm came over me as I looked across the fields to the hills in the distance. A woman like me once stood between these long rows of herbs — summer savory, sage, sweet marjoram and thyme — leaned on her shovel brushing her hair back from her eyes, watching gray snow clouds roll down the Berkshires.
More information at hancockshakervillage.org
The Shakers embraced practical designs of great utility and beauty.Jennifer Almquist
Exterior of Lakeville Books & Stationery in Great Barrington.
The second Lakeville Books & Stationery is slightly larger than the first store. It offers more than 10,000 books and follows the same model: a general-interest store with a curated mix of current bestsellers, children’s and young readers’ sections; and robust collections for adults ranging from arts and architecture, cooking and gardening, and home design to literature and memoirs. Anne reads more than 150 new titles every year (as many as a Booker Prize judge) and is a great resource to help customers find the perfect pick.
A real-time inventory system helps the store track what’s on hand, and staff can order items that aren’t currently available. There is also a selection of writing and paper goods, including notecards, journals, pens and notebooks, as well as art supplies, board games, jigsaw puzzles and more. The owners scour the stationery trade shows twice a year and, Darryl says, “like to tailor what we offer to suit the interest of our customers in each market.”
The Pecks know what it takes to run a successful local enterprise. Darryl has a 53-year background in retail and has launched several successful businesses. He and Anne owned and operated a bookstore on St. Simons Island, Georgia, from 2019 to 2025. They are tapping into their local roots with both stores. They raised their family in Sharon, and their daughter Alice, a native of the Northwest Corner, manages the Lakeville store.
Interior of Lakeville Books & Stationery.Provided
The family values the role that a retail store plays as a supporting partner in the community, and they prioritize great management in both locations, hiring and training talent from local communities. Their 10 team members across both stores are from the area, and two of the Great Barrington employees previously worked at Bookloft.
Darryl and Anne’s attention to customer service is everywhere apparent and adds to the enjoyable and irreplaceable in-store shopping experience. The books are in pristine condition, eliminating the risk of damage that sometimes occurs during shipping. This is especially important for books that will live on people’s shelves and coffee tables for years.
Darryl says, “People love the in-store discovery — you find books you didn’t know existed, which is very difficult to do on a website. Also, many customers depend on our recommendations when visiting. There is a saying about bookstores versus online ordering: We may not have exactly what you were looking for, but we have what you want.”
Lakeville Books & Stationery’s Great Barrington store is open 7 days a week, Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Parking is available in the lot behind the building and in the parking lot behind the firehouse. The entrance to the store is accessible from the store parking lot.
For more information, go to lakevillebooks.com., and sign-up for the Lakeville Books newsletter.
Richard Feiner and Annette Stover have worked and taught in the arts, communications, and philanthropy in Berlin, Paris, Tokyo and New York. Passionate supporters of the arts, they live in Salisbury and Greenwich Village.
