Utah Food Bank took delivery of 1,512,000 eggs on Monday, Oct. 5. The shipment is the first from a multistate price-fixing settlement that Utah Attorney General Derek Brown said puts food on kitchen tables instead of dollars in a government account.

The 125,000 cartons will move through the food bank's network of 360 partner agencies across all 29 Utah counties. About 533,000 Utahns are experiencing food insecurity, according to the food bank.

"Utah families paid more than they should have for eggs, all because a few companies decided to cheat rather than compete," Brown said, as first reported by ABC4. "I wanted our settlement to impact Utah families directly, instead of just sitting in a random government account."

The settlement, announced in late June, resolved a civil antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice and 17 state attorneys general.

The complaint was filed June 29 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. It alleged Cal-Maine Foods Inc., Versova Holdings and Hickman's Family Farms conspired to inflate the daily egg price benchmark published by Urner Barry Publications from June 2022 through March 2025. The scheme violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act, the federal antitrust law.

Nationally, the three producers agreed to donate more than 53 million eggs and pay $3.3 million combined. Cal-Maine agreed to pay $1.5 million, Hickman's $1 million and Versova $800,000, CNBC reported. Utah's share also includes $93,000 directed to the state's antitrust enforcement fund.

Cal-Maine and Versova denied wrongdoing, pointing to bird flu outbreaks as the primary driver of higher egg prices, according to CNBC. Mantiqueira USA, which owns Hickman's, said the conduct predated its acquisition of the company.

Ginette Bott, president and CEO of Utah Food Bank, said the eggs will reach families who count on food assistance each month. The Utah Attorney General's Office called eggs one of the most requested and most expensive food staples.

One of the defendants has a Utah connection.

Centrum Valley Holdings and Versova Management Cooperative, both named in the lawsuit, oversee several egg producers, including Oakdell Farms in Utah.

Under the settlement, the three producers are barred for five years from communicating with competitors about bids, agreeing on prices or supply, or influencing competitors' bidding. They must also file annual compliance certifications.

Residents who need food assistance can find their nearest pantry at utahfoodbank.org/find-a-pantry.