The first shipment of eggs secured through a multistate price-fixing settlement has arrived at a Yuma-area food bank, with more donations expected to reach Arizona communities.
Cal-Maine Foods delivered 17 pallets containing about 183,600 eggs to the Yuma Community Food Bank last Friday, according to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes. The donation is part of a settlement reached after an investigation found that several major egg producers illegally coordinated to influence egg prices.
“This delivery is proof that when companies break the law and drive up costs for Arizonans, we will hold them accountable and get real relief for Arizonans,” Mayes said in a statement Monday.
The Yuma Community Food Bank is one of four regional food banks in the Arizona Food Bank Network. The network also includes St. Mary’s Food Bank, United Food Bank and Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. Those regional food banks distribute large donations to more than 1,000 smaller food banks, pantries and other organizations across Arizona.
The eggs delivered to Yuma are expected to be distributed to partner agencies serving Yuma and La Paz counties.
The donation follows a settlement announced June 30 involving Cal-Maine Foods, Versova/Centrum and Hickman’s Egg Ranch. The companies were investigated by a bipartisan group of states and the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations they coordinated their bidding activity to influence a daily egg price index.
According to the investigation, the companies coordinated between roughly June 2022 and March 2025 to influence benchmark price quotes published by Urner Barry, a pricing service commonly used in egg supply contracts. Authorities said the activity artificially increased prices paid by retailers and consumers nationwide.
Under the settlement, the companies agreed to donate more than 53 million eggs, at their own expense, to food banks and nonprofit organizations in states that participated in the investigation. They also agreed to pay the states a combined $3.3 million.
The companies agreed to stop the alleged coordination, implement compliance measures and submit to ongoing state oversight.
Arizona officials say additional egg deliveries under the settlement will be announced later.