From press release

Pearl Valley Eggs and Mussman’s Back Acres donated more than 57,000 eggs to the Northern Illinois Food Bank (NIFB) Thursday, March 25.

“Helping neighboring families in need is of the utmost importance to our industry,” said Kevin Mussman, of Mussman’s Back Acres. “We’re proud to offer our help and support when our community needs it now more than ever.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecure people as those who do not have regular access to enough safe, nutritious food for an active and healthy life. In Illinois, roughly 11.1 percent of the state population are food insecure and live with hunger and fear of starvation.

“This is one of many donations we’re doing across the state to help fight hunger and food insecurity,” said Ben Thompson, vice president of Pearl Valley Eggs. “We’re in a time when every bit helps and we are more than happy to do our part to help provide for those who need it most.”

Ben Thompson and his family have owned and operated Pearl Valley Eggs for 23 years in Illinois. This year alone, they are donating more than a quarter of a million eggs to local food banks across the state. Their partnership here in Illinois along with Mussman’s Back Acres and throughout the nation will help feed the nearly 49 million men, women and children in America who are at risk of hunger.

NIFB CEO and President H. Dennis Smith said: “We are incredibly grateful to Pearl Valley Eggs and Mussman’s Back Acres for their support in our fight against hunger here in northern Illinois. Without the support of civic-minded organizations such as these, we would find it very difficult to feed the 502,400 people who rely on our services each year. The demand for food assistance has skyrocketed over the last year, and now, more than ever, we rely on the generosity of our corporate and individual donors.”

Last year, NIFB distributed more than 27.2 million pounds of food serving more than 520 food-assistance sites in 13 northern Illinois counties.

For the third year in a row, United Egg Producers and Feeding America are teaming up in the fight against hunger and local egg farmers across America are dropping off truckloads of much-needed protein to local food banks just in time for Easter. Beginning in March and leading up to April 4, egg farmers nationwide will be donating more than 12 million eggs to help make sure America’s food banks are well stocked with nutrient-dense eggs.

“United Egg Producers’ members are dedicated to helping their local communities,” said Gene Gregory, president of United Egg Producers. “Our hope is that this donation during the Easter holiday makes a significant difference in the lives of many people who live at risk of hunger.”

United Egg Producers

United Egg Producers (UEP) is the nation’s leading trade association for U.S. egg farmers, representing 97 percent of U.S. egg farmers, whose members produce eggs including modern cage production, cage-free, free range, organic and other specialty eggs. UEP is based in Alpharetta, Ga. To learn more about the egg industry, visit www.uepcertified.com ^[1].

Northern Illinois Food Bank

Northern Illinois Food Bank (NIFB) is an Illinois non-for-profit organization that provides food to all those in need through its 520 partner agencies in the following 13 counties: Boone, DuPage, DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Will and Winnebago. NIFB acquires, gathers, handles and distributes donated, government and purchased food to more than 61,600 different people each week through local food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, youth activity centers and other food assistance sites. In Fiscal Year 2009, NIFB distributed more than 27 million pounds of food and is on pace to distribute 35-plus million pounds this year. The Food Bank has recently launched a Capital Campaign to build a new Food Distribution and Community Nutrition Center to enable them to handle more food more efficiently to meet the increasing demand.

Feeding America

Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, network members supply food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks support 63,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information about how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit http://www.feedingamerica.org ^[2]. Find Feeding America on Facebook at facebook.com/FeedingAmerica ^[3] or follow their news on Twitter at twitter.com/FeedingAmerica ^[4].