FARGO - Families in need will have a few more eggs - 36,000, to be exact - on the dinner table this Easter thanks to a local farm's donation Wednesday to the Great Plains Food Bank in Fargo.
Coming off a year in which demand for emergency food assistance reached an all-time high in North Dakota, the donation from J&A Farms of Lake Park, Minn., will make "an incredible difference," said Marcia Paulson, marketing director for the food bank.
The 3,000 dozen eggs will be distributed to people seeking assistance through the food bank's partner network of 270 pantries, soup kitchens and emergency shelters in 98 communities in North Dakota and Clay County.
Paulson said the food bank hears from its partners about the need for protein-rich items in food baskets and hot meals.
"From a family's perspective, to be able to serve eggs at a breakfast on Easter morning is going to be a real treat," she said.
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This is the fourth consecutive year J&A Farms has given to the food bank, bringing the total to more than 176,000 eggs donated, said Amon Baer, who operates the 300,000-chicken farm with his son, Jareb.
The Baers donated the eggs in conjunction with United Egg Producers, whose members nationwide will donate nearly 12 million eggs this year while teaming up with Feeding America's network of food banks to fight hunger.
J&A Farms produces 6 million dozen eggs per year, "give or take one or two," Amon Baer said. Wednesday's donation of 100 cases of eggs represents about one-sixth of the farm's daily production.
"I feel very blessed to be able to make a contribution like this," he said, adding that the farm donates eggs throughout the year to churches, fundraisers and others, including the Hawley, Minn., food bank.
Paulson said demand for services and emergency food assistance in the Great Plains Food Bank's distribution area reached an all-time high last year, with food for 5.7 million meals provided to more than 66,000 people. Partner agencies reported an 8.4 percent jump in food shelf visits and a more than 9 percent increase in emergency meals served compared with 2009.
Those figures contrast with North Dakota's reputation as a state with a robust economy that weathered the recession better than most.
"I wish we could define it and fix it," Paulson said. "But I think as people are trying to make ends meet - they're working two jobs, they're maybe working in jobs without health insurance or a catastrophe happens like a flood or a health emergency - those limited resources really are stretched."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Mike Nowatzki at (701) 241-5528
