Texas attorney general Ken Paxton said more than 7 million free eggs will be distributed to Texas food banks after antitrust settlements with three major egg producers. He said Texans will have an opportunity to receive cartons of free eggs in communities across the state.
Paxton made the announcement Tuesday and said more than 1.7 million eggs had already been delivered, with another 5.3 million slated to arrive in the coming weeks. The settlements were reached in June with Cal-Maine Foods, Centrum/Versova and Hickman's Egg Ranch.
Feeding Texas and 17 food banks
The distribution is being coordinated with Feeding Texas and involves 17 food banks across Texas. The Houston Food Bank is expected to receive 1,544,400 eggs, while the North Texas Food Bank in Plano and the Tarrant Area Food Bank in Fort Worth are each expected to receive 842,400 eggs.
Other participating food banks are in Austin, San Antonio, Tyler, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Laredo, Odessa, Pharr, Beaumont, Amarillo, Lubbock, Victoria, Abilene and Wichita Falls. Paxton said, "After securing 7 million eggs for the people of Texas, I am excited to announce that Texans will now have an opportunity to receive cartons of free eggs in communities across the state," and added, "I will continue to help our families put food on the table and do everything within my power to lower prices and help Texans who are struggling to make ends meet."
June settlements and Texas prices
The settlements resolved antitrust claims brought by the Trump administration's Department of Justice and a coalition of state attorneys general. The claims alleged that the companies conspired to inflate egg prices between 2022 and 2025, and the companies will pay a combined $3.3 million to participating states.
Marty Thomas, an egg farmer, was described in the FOX Business report as facing losses because his production costs remain high, even as surging egg supply has driven consumer prices down. That leaves the settlement-donated eggs moving through a market where lower store prices do not automatically mean lower costs for producers.
Food banks are still sorting out when each location will start handing out the eggs, and Paxton's announcement did not give a statewide schedule for each distribution point. For Texans who rely on local food banks, the practical change is immediate in one sense and delayed in another: the supply is already moving, but the pickup timing will depend on each local site.
