Giving back – donating eggs

19,800 dozen were donated for the Fill the Truck campaign with our customer Fareway. The eggs were distributed to 8 food banks throughout Iowa and then went to local food pantries nearby Fareway’s stores.

2700 dozen were donated as part of our monthly pallet donation to food banks in Minnesota, Iowa and Colorado. This program has been in place since 2006 and to date we have donated 2.2 million dozen eggs.

The rest were donated to organizations near all of our facilities. Some of the organizations include:

• Fire/police departments
• Lake betterment groups
• Lions Club, American Legion, VFW and Knights of Columbus groups
• Churches
• 4-H groups
• Iowa Grocers Industry Association

Our donations enable these groups to raise money for their important causes, including supporting a school in Haiti, donating money to needy families in the local community, fighting disease and preserving lakes.

We are proud to be able to share our wholesome high-protein eggs with families in need.

Finally, after another long Minnesota winter, spring is just around the corner. This week, bunnies, baskets and eggs are top of mind as families prepare for Easter. Eggs are always on our mind at Sparboe Farms!

At Easter, when many families are purchasing eggs for Easter activities, we make sure there are plenty of farm fresh eggs for our customers to color and enjoy. Our hens and employees work hard to keep eggs on grocery store shelves all across the Midwest and we appreciate our loyal customers who choose to buy local eggs from Sparboe Farms.

Sparboe Farms was founded in 1954, and like Litchfield, we have changed and grown over six decades. We support local businesses and employ over 100 people in central Minnesota. We strive to be a good neighbor through responsible farming practices and environmental stewardship.

Over the years, we have contributed to the Litchfield community in many ways. We have also donated millions of eggs to food shelves throughout Minnesota, Iowa and Colorado through our monthly pallet donations. Organizations like Feeding America constantly seek egg donations since eggs are a wonderful, low cost source of protein.

Farmers today (including those farmers in the Litchfield community) are producing more quality food, using fewer resources than ever before. For example, in one year, the Prairie Farm in Litchfield produced enough eggs to feed nearly 1.5 million people in Minnesota. The manure from our farms is used as fertilizer for local crops, and in turn, we buy our chicken feed from a local mill.

Our commitment to Litchfield is clear as we reinvest in our Prairie Farm on east U.S. Highway 12, which was originally constructed 40 years ago. This multi-year, multi-million dollar project began in 2011 with the construction of a water treatment plant that treats wash water from our farm and our reinvestment does not end there.

You may have noticed that some of the original barns have been demolished. This is to make room for the first new barn, which will be one of the most modern hen housing systems in Minnesota. The new farm will have improved work spaces for our employees and enhanced housing for our hens. The renovations are being designed with best in class plans for food safety, the environment, and energy efficiency. We are very excited about these big changes at the Prairie Farm.

We want to wish you a happy Easter, and as you get together this holiday weekend, we hope you enjoy dyeing, decorating and eating eggs with your family!

Beth Schnell

President of Sparboe Farms

The link to the article is here

Here’s the description of the contest:

Eggs are an excellent, affordable source of high quality protein and are eaten by people all over the world. Each culture has their own ways of using eggs in meals throughout the day. Sparboe Farms, your local Iowa egg farmer, wants to know what your favorite internationally inspired egg dish is! We appreciate your participation in our contest and your support of Sparboe Farms – you can find Sparboe Farms brand eggs at your local grocery and convenience stores in Iowa.

Rules: Recipes must use at least 3 eggs and be inspired from an international recipe. Entries will be judged on taste (35%) presentation (35%) and creativity/international inspiration (30%) with cash prizes going to the top 3 entries. All entrants’ recipes will be featured in Sparboe’s recipe section at www.sparboe.com

The Iowa State Fair is in Des Moines, IA and runs from August 8-18, 2013. If you live in Iowa, stay tuned to find out when our contest will take place and stop by and see what we’re sure will be an amazing bunch of entries!