By STEVE BINDER
Illinois Correspondent

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — For folks struggling to make ends meet, eggs usually aren’t at the top of their food lists. They don’t last forever, are sometimes on the costly side and they rarely are offered at food pantries throughout Illinois.
But that could change soon, thanks to legislation proposed by state Sen. Michael W. Frerichs, a Democrat from Champaign. Each year the U.S. Food and Drug Administration throws away thousands of high-protein eggs that are labeled inappropriately, most often from producers trying to mark up an egg’s weight.

Under Frerichs’ proposed legislation, the discarded eggs instead would be redirected to food pantries in lieu of the fines assessed against producers. To George Culley, founder of the Least of the Brethren Food Pantry in Pinckneyville, the addition of eggs to the shelves of canned goods, bread and cheese would be appreciated.

“I wish we could provide people more fresh foods, but we’re not set up as well to do that,” Culley said. “To be able to give eggs – wow, that would be a blessing.”

The number of people using Culley’s pantry, and food depositories throughout the state, have increased in recent years in part because of the downturn in the economy. That downturn is part of the reason the Illinois Department of Agriculture pushed for the bill’s introduction.

“Essentially, the rationale for the bill is quite simple. In this economy, food banks are serving more people than ever before,” department spokesman Jeff Squibb said. “There is a critical need for food and the Department of Agriculture simply felt that companies paying penalties in eggs to food banks would be a good use of an excellent protein source.”

The bill, SB 2011, remains in the Senate’s assignment committee. A group of nearly 100 people lobbied lawmakers recently in Springfield to pass the legislation. The Greater Chicago Food Depository, partnered with the hunger-relief charity Feeding America, organized the trip.

“Eggs are an important staple food item,” said Meaghan Farno, spokeswoman for the depository. “They are low-calorie and nutrient-rich, but they’re perishable and not often donated.”

Squibb said he’s hopeful the legislation makes it out of committee and to a full Senate vote this spring. “We’re simply hoping to help the hungry,” he said.
He said the number of eggs discarded each year varies widely.
“I’ve been told that in some years, there are a few thousand dozens and in others, there are tens of thousands of dozens,” Squibb said.