Hunger is no yolk for Manitoba Egg Farmers

Harvest Manitoba has received the largest donation from Manitoba Egg Farmers to battle the rising need for families who need food assistance.

Manitoba Egg Farmers (MEF) has been working with Harvest Manitoba (Harvest) for many years, and this year they have broken their record for how many eggs they have given—12,000 dozen eggs in one month.

Another record has been broken this fall, the number of Manitobans using the food bank is at an all-time high. Annually, Harvest supplies food to approximately 90,000 Manitobans, and almost half are children.

Due to inflation skyrocketing, the demand for food assistance in Winnipeg and surrounding communities has increased exponentially.

"It takes a province to feed a province," says Vince Barletta, President & CEO of Harvest Manitoba. "In this extraordinary year where Harvest helped more Manitobans than ever before, we are especially grateful for the ‘Eggstraordinary’ support of our Egg Farmers in helping us feed families across our province."

There are 170 egg-farming families in Manitoba and the donation of eggs, which are high in protein and provide long-lasting energy, guarantees that every family has the chance to eat a nutritious meal despite having more expensive grocery bills.

"We are so proud to have broken this record for the most eggs donated in one month and hope that these eggs make a difference for Manitoba families," says MEF Chair Catherine Kroeker-Klassen. "We were able to visit Harvest in October and help pack eggs into cartons to give directly to families. Seeing the direct result of our donations – the sheer number of eggs in the Harvest warehouse – was incredibly humbling and rewarding."

When the COVID-19 pandemic started, MEF made a larger commitment to provide Manitoba families access to healthy eggs. Since 2020, MEF has regularly donated pallets of eggs to increase Harvest's supply of healthy foods and this year they donated two pallets of eggs each month, which equals over 20,000 eggs, and supported Harvest in purchasing two pallets at our cost. That is more than 7,000 dozen eggs per month distributed to Manitobans receiving hampers from Harvest.

Join Manitoba’s egg farmers in supporting Harvest this holiday season and be sure to “Share Your Thanks” by donating online at harvestmanitoba.ca.