Texas food banks to receive millions of eggs after price-fixing settlement
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a deal sending over 7 million eggs to food banks statewide after reaching a settlement with Cal-Maine Foods, Centrum/Versova, and Hickman's Egg Ranch.
The settlement resolves antitrust allegations that the three egg producers illegally worked together to raise prices between 2022 and 2025. Investigators found the companies coordinated their bids to manipulate daily egg price reports, artificially increasing costs for Texas consumers.
The Attorney General’s Office detailed how one Hickman’s executive encouraged executives at Cal-Maine and Versova to submit higher bids to drive up prices, a tactic all three companies then followed. This manipulation affected the price of eggs, a common and affordable food source for many families, as well as school lunches and baked goods. Seventeen food banks across Texas will distribute the eggs, with the Houston Food Bank receiving the largest amount at 1,544,400 eggs.
Other major distributions will go to North Texas Food Bank and Tarrant Area Food Bank, each receiving 842,400 eggs. Smaller deliveries are planned for communities throughout the state, from major cities to rural areas. Paxton stated he will continue working to lower prices and help Texans struggling financially.
