The Buckeye egg ranch is scheduled to donate 2.1 million eggs to three food banks in September following a DOJ investigation into an alleged price-fixing scheme.
BUCKEYE, Ariz. — An Arizona egg ranch will deliver millions of donated eggs to food banks throughout the state as part of a settlement reached with law enforcement officials.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said Hickman’s Egg Ranch is scheduled to donate 2.1 million eggs to three local food banks in September to satisfy a condition of a settlement announced earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Justice.
This story continues below.
An investigation conducted by the DOJ and several states accused Hickman’s, Cal-Maine Foods Inc. and Versova/Centrum of conspiring together to inflate egg prices by coordinating their bidding activity to influence price quotes.
Hickman’s, which operates out of Buckeye, suffered a major blow last year when the company lost millions of chickens to the bird flu. The egg ranch then announced it was going to be bought by Mantiqueira USA, a Brazilian company.
A spokesperson for Mantiqueira previously told 12News the alleged conduct referenced in the DOJ investigation predates the company’s acquisition of Hickman’s and the settlement “fully resolves” the allegations against the egg ranch.
The settlement announced by the DOJ obligates the involved companies to collectively donate millions of eggs and pay up to $3.3 million.
Mayes’ office said Hickman’s will be delivering eggs to St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix, the United Food Bank in Mesa and the Community Food Bank in Tucson. The donated eggs are expected to be distributed to food pantries and partner agencies located across the service regions of the three food banks.
RELATED: Arizona egg farm would pay $1 million, donate millions of eggs under proposed settlement with DOJ
RELATED: Arizona could receive $223M under proposed Meta settlement
*Editor’s Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast.*
>> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
Mesa
Chandler
Scottsdale
Tempe
Glendale
Surprise
Peoria
Gilbert
El Mirage
Avondale
Litchfield Park
Goodyear
Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
Dining and Cooking