Egg prices in Bengaluru's wholesale market hit ₹6.75 on Wednesday and crossed ₹8 at retail. This rise is hurting regular buyers and school teachers alike. Teachers say they spend their own money to ensure eggs remain part of midday meals. The government supplies eggs, bananas, and groundnut chikkis to students from classes 1 to 10 to fight malnutrition. Since September 2024, eggs are provided six days a week with APF support. Recently, chikki distribution stopped due to quality issues, but eggs and bananas continue to be served. Student attendance is up. The government pays ₹6 per egg, including logistics, but the market price is above ₹8. Teachers fill the gap from their funds. A Bengaluru government Urdu school teacher said, "The price of eggs has been increasing. All the children in our school eat eggs. So, despite the high price, we have to distribute eggs to the children. I spent a total of ₹2,800 of my own money last month on distributing eggs. The department will not refund this amount." Some schools now give bananas instead of eggs due to cost. Egg distributor V. Nagaraj explained, "Egg production decreases during the rainy and the winter season. This is the main reason for the increase in prices." He added that demand spikes in December due to Christmas, making supply difficult. A government school headmaster said, "We are purchasing eggs at retail prices. A request has been made to the officials of the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) to revise the price of eggs. They said that they will bring our request to the attention of the government. But every month, we have to pay the additional amount for eggs from our own pockets." Department officials did not respond to requests for comment.