HATCH extends egg donation programme

Flanked by two pallets of eggs (1,440 dozen) donated to Central Indiana food banks through HATCH for Hunger, partners involved with the first HATCH project announced donations of 100,039 eggs during the 10-week pilot period. (Left to right) Back row: John Whitaker, Midwest Food Bank; Russell Brown, The Cupboard of Lawrence Township; Bert Payne, HATCH for Hunger, Elanco Animal Health; Darrell Largen, The Cupboard of Lawrence Township; and John Elliott, Kroger. Front row: Cindy Hubert, Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana; Mollie Mattocks, The Cupboard of Lawrence Township; and Carol Phipps, Interchurch Food Pantry of Johnson County.

After providing 100,039 eggs to more than 8,000 families during a 10-week pilot project in Central Indiana, HATCH announced it will extend its programme with Kroger, Rose Acre Farms and Elanco through Dec. 31, 2015.

This announcement was made during a special event at Gleaners Food Bank, one of two food banks distributing HATCH eggs to food pantries throughout Central Indiana. Officials also said HATCH, which is providing a new way consumers, food stores and farmers can work together to make eggs available to undernourished people, will continue exploring opportunities to expand its reach to other communities.

Giving more people access to nutrient-rich eggs

“HATCH is becoming a sustainable model for how people can work together locally to fight undernourishment and make a real, tangible difference in their communities,” said Bert Payne, operations leader for HATCH for Hunger at Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Company. “The beauty of HATCH is that it is giving more people access to nutrient-rich eggs, even in the face of today’s higher prices due to reduced U.S. egg supplies.”

The HATCH pilot programmeme, which involved 65 Central Indiana Kroger stores, provided one egg to a local food bank for each dozen Kroger-brand medium eggs purchased from April 13 through June 20. So far, 8,336 dozen (100,039 eggs) have been donated through Gleaners Food Bank and Midwest Food Bank.

Elanco, the company that developed HATCH for Hunger, plans to build on the HATCH pilot programme to develop similar initiatives that can bring food security to other locations in the United States and additional countries.