Utah settlement sends 1.5 million eggs to food pantries statewide

Park City, Heber food pantries could receive eggs from Utah price-fixing settlement

UTAH — Utah’s egg price-fixing settlement is putting a lot of eggs in a lot of baskets.

More than 1.5 million eggs secured through a price-fixing settlement are being distributed to families through the Utah Food Bank’s statewide network.

The shipment arrived at the Utah Food Bank Monday, according to Utah Attorney General Derek Brown, and cartons will be soon be distributed to food pantries throughout the state.

The eggs are part of a settlement Utah reached with three major egg producers — Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., Versova Holdings and Hickman’s Family Farms — after the state alleged the companies coordinated to inflate the daily price quotes used to set egg prices.

According to the complaint, the companies exchanged pricing plans and bidding strategies rather than competing with one another. Utah, along with 16 other states, alleged the conduct violated the Sherman Act’s prohibition on price fixing and drove up egg costs for Utah families.

Rather than requesting a check for the settlement, Utah chose to receive eggs that could be distributed directly to residents.

“Utah families paid more than they should have for eggs, all because a few companies decided to cheat rather than compete,” Brown said. “I wanted our settlement to impact Utah families directly, instead of just sitting in a random government account. So that’s exactly what’s happening — more than a million and a half eggs are going straight to Utah kitchen tables.”

The Utah Food Bank will distribute the eggs through its statewide network of partner pantries and programs, prioritizing families who rely on food assistance.

Locally, the Christian Center of Park City is awaiting notification about the donation.

Jaime Mira, deputy director of the Christian Center of Park City, said the organization receives food from the Utah Food Bank once a month in Park City and twice a month in Heber City. If the center receives eggs from the settlement, it plans to divide them between its two food pantries based on client needs.

Most of the food distributed through the Christian Center’s pantries consists of canned and dry goods, Mira said, although the organization also rescues food from participating grocery stores each business day, including dairy products, meat, deli items, and fresh produce.

“All donations are welcome at our food pantries and carefully inspected before being distributed to our clients,” Mira said.

The Utah Food Bank said eggs are among the most requested and expensive staples for many households, making the donation a practical form of assistance.

“Food is at its most meaningful when it reaches people who need it most, and these eggs will do exactly that for the approximately 533,000 Utahns experiencing food insecurity,” said Ginette Bott, president and CEO of the Utah Food Bank. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to be able to distribute such a highly nutritious and in-demand staple throughout the state via our network of 360 partner agencies.”

Also as part of the settlement, the egg producers agreed to donate 53 million eggs to food banks throughout the U.S., in addition to paying millions of dollars in fines.