Winston-Salem Food Bank Receives nearly 300,000 Eggs Delivery Following Attorney General Jackson’s Settlement in Antitrust Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Contact: comms@ncdoj.gov
919-538-2809

RALEIGH — Today, Attorney General Jeff Jackson joined food bank leaders at Second Harvest Food Banks of Northwest NC in Winston-Salem to receive another egg delivery as part of a series of deliveries totaling nearly 3 million eggs. Food banks across North Carolina are receiving the eggs as part of a settlement Attorney General Jackson reached with three of the nation’s largest egg producers over allegations that they violated antitrust laws by manipulating information that helps set egg prices in the United States.

The North Carolina Department of Justice has been working with Feeding the Carolinas to distribute the eggs to food banks across the state. Last week, Attorney General Jackon joined food banks leaders in Raleigh to receive the first egg delivery at the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina. Eggs have also been delivered to Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast NC, and Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina. The deliveries will continue over the next several weeks.

“This settlement holds these egg producers accountable and helps feed people in North Carolina,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “Hundreds of thousands of eggs have already been delivered to food banks in the state, and we’ve still got more coming for people across North Carolina.”

Attorney General Jackson, 16 other bipartisan attorneys general, and the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) reached the settlement with the three egg producers — Cal-Maine, Hickman’s Family Farms, and Versova — in June.

The settlement resolves allegations that the producers violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. Large buyers, such as grocery stores and restaurants, typically buy eggs at prices tied to industry benchmarks. Consumers then pay for eggs at prices closely tied to those benchmark prices. The three producers allegedly worked together between 2022 and 2025 to share information and coordinate on bidding to manipulate the key benchmark and artificially inflate the price of eggs.

As part of the settlement, the companies will donate about 50 million eggs to food banks across the United States. They are also required to end their illegal coordination to manipulate price benchmarks, adopt compliance measures to prevent future violations, and cooperate with oversight by the states. Additionally, the are required to designate compliance officers who will report any settlement violated to the states and the USDOJ.

Attorney General Jackson was joined in reaching the settlement by the USDOJ, and the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

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