Local Hens Out-Do the Easter Bunny
March 20, 2008 - WINTHROP ME
Thank-you notes can be addressed to the hens at Dorothy Egg Farms. The hens - through the Lough family that operates the Winthrop business - donated 91,800 eggs this week to feed hungry people in Maine. The eggs were shipped to the Good Shepherd Food-Bank in Auburn on Tuesday and are winging their way to some 600+ agencies that receive food from it's statewide, charitable distribution centers.
"We like to think that could be 7,650 families that could receive eggs for Easter," said Julia Lough, office manager for Dorothy Egg Farms. The donation was in response to a nationwide drive by United Egg Producers and coordinated with America's Second Harvest. Additional eggs were donated by the New England-based Radlo Foods, which has locations in Maine, so the total came to more than 100,000 eggs.
"This is just such a tremendous blessing for the agency," said JoAn Chartier, spokeswoman for the Good Shepherd Food-Bank. "They'll be gone very soon." Chartier said the distribution center gives priority to soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters for those who are homeless and abused. Chartier said the eggs provide essential protein. "Protein has been identified as lacking among those who struggle to put food on their table, those who suffer with the risk of hunger," she said. "Typically there's never enough protein. There's always a high demand and low supply." Chartier said the owners of Dorothy Egg Farms donate 60 dozen eggs every week throughout the year.
"Brown eggs are local eggs," said Lough. The Winthrop farm has about 1.1 million hens and 60 employees, Lough said. Egg farmers across the country donated more than 12 million eggs to the drive, according to a press release from United Egg Producers. A list of agencies, including food pantries and other programs that receive food from the Good Shepherd Food-Bank, is available on the Web at gsfb.org.
