One of the most requested items at North Carolina’s food banks is food that’s high in protein. Starting this week, hungry families will see their wish fulfilled dozens and dozens of times over.

State Attorney General Jeff Jackson, joined by state food bank leaders, received 270,000 eggs on Tuesday, the first in a series of deliveries of three million eggs from an antitrust lawsuit.

Jackson and 16 other attorneys general reached a settlement in July with three of the nation’s largest egg producers over allegations they violated the law and worked together to set higher egg prices.

Grocery stores and restaurants typically buy eggs at prices that are tied to industry benchmarks. In this case, the state attorneys general alleged Cal-Maine Foods, Hickman’s Family Farms, and Versova worked together to game the system and charge more for eggs.

North Carolina’s share of the 53 million egg settlement is about 3 million eggs. Over the next six weeks, those eggs will be distributed to food pantries across all 100 counties.

Ann Edmondson, executive director of Feeding the Carolinas, said the settlement arrives as more than 1.7 million North Carolinians face food insecurity.

“That’s the highest in a generation – families who don’t know where their next meal is coming from,” said Edmondson.

No yolk: NC AG Jeff Jackson settles antitrust lawsuit for 3 million eggs

Jackson said the attorneys general could have pushed for more money in the litigation against the egg producers, but decided a more creative solution would benefit more people.

“The harm here was [to] people’s grocery bill. Why not try and do something more direct and targeted towards the neediest families in America?” Jackson told NC Newsline. “This doesn’t undo the fact that people paid too much for groceries, but it is genuine accountability in a way that will actually help people immediately.”

Amy Beros, president of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina, said they will be coordinating distribution of the fragile cargo through September. And partner agencies are egg-static to receive the unexpected windfall. With rising food costs, fresh eggs are often considered a luxury by needy families.

“What we hear directly from neighbors facing hunger – eggs are so critical to making a meal feel whole,” said Beros. “Protein is such a key piece of dignity for our neighbors. We have heard over and over again how critical eggs have been, because they’ve been priced out of them for a while.”