Elizabeth City Food Bank Receives Nearly 300,000 Eggs Delivery Following Attorney General Jackson’s Settlement in Antitrust Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 16, 2026
Contact: comms@ncdoj.gov
919-538-2809

RALEIGH — On Tuesday, the Food Bank of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City received nearly 300,000 eggs as part of Attorney General Jeff Jackson’s settlement with three of the nation’s largest egg producers over allegations that they violated antitrust laws and worked together to raise egg prices.

“These egg producers decided to break the law, and North Carolinians had to pay the price,” said Attorney General Jeff Jackson. “This settlement is what accountability looks like. These companies are being held responsible, and millions of eggs are going to the North Carolinians who need them most, including hundreds of thousands of eggs to the people in the northeastern part of our state.”

“Lean protein is one of the most requested items across our hunger-relief network. We appreciate the work of Attorney General Jeff Jackson and his office to reach this settlement which includes 270,000 eggs for the people of Northeastern North Carolina. Securing this egg donation to the NC food banks as a foundational piece of the settlement will greatly benefit our food insecure neighbors across North Carolina and will support our mission to connect people to healthy food and a brighter future,” said Liz Reasoner, CEO, Food Bank of the Albemarle.

(AG Jackson helps unload egg deliveries to a food bank in Winston-Salem last month.)

The North Carolina Department of Justice has partnered with Feeding the Carolinas to distribute three million eggs to food banks statewide. Attorney General Jeff Jackson previously joined food bank leaders for deliveries in Raleigh and Winston-Salem. Nearly 2.5 million of the total three million eggs have now been delivered to North Carolina. Food Bank of the Albemarle received 270,000 eggs, with the last three deliveries planned across the state this month.

The egg deliveries are part of a settlement reached by Attorney General Jackson, 16 other bipartisan attorneys general, and the U.S. Department of Justice with Cal-Maine, Hickman’s Family Farms, and Versova. The settlement resolves allegations that the three companies violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by working together from 2022 to 2025 to share information and coordinate bidding to manipulate a key industry benchmark and artificially raise egg prices. Large buyers, including grocery stores and restaurants, typically purchase eggs at prices tied to industry benchmarks. Changes to those benchmarks can affect the prices consumers pay.

In addition to providing about 50 million eggs to food banks across the United States, the settlement requires the companies to stop their illegal coordination to manipulate price benchmarks, adopt compliance measures to prevent future violations, and cooperate with oversight by the states. Additionally, they must designate compliance officers who will report any violations of the settlement to the states and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Attorney General Jackson was joined in reaching the settlement by the U.S. Department of Justice 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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