Rep. Myers Passes Legislation Fighting Food Insecurity by Expanding Egg Donations to Local Food Shelves and Food Banks

St. Paul – State Representative Andrew Myers, R-Tonka Bay, announced Saturday that his bipartisan bill, SF 3891, passed unanimously the Minnesota House of Representatives. The legislation allows eggs to be donated to charitable food assistance programs if they meet clear refrigeration, packaging, labeling, and distribution requirements.

Myers has volunteered with his local food shelf for more than 10 years and currently serves on its board, giving him firsthand experience with the challenges food shelves face in securing healthy, protein-rich foods for families. That experience helped shape the bill, which addresses a simple problem in state law: safe, nutritious eggs are being discarded because they can no longer be donated after their quality assurance date.  For some food shelves, food rescue and donation can make up 65% of the food that is distributed. 

“Because of my work with our local food shelf and the hundreds of volunteers, I know how important reliable access to protein is for families,” Myers said. “I also know how frustrating it is to see safe, nutritious food go to waste when it could be helping our neighbors. This bill is a practical fix that supports food shelves, reduces waste, and keeps strong food safety standards in place.”

Under the bill, donated eggs must remain in their original packaging, have been properly graded, be continuously refrigerated, and be distributed within 30 days with updated labeling. Myers said the bill is a common-sense, bipartisan solution that will help more Minnesotans access healthy food.

The Minnesota Grocers Association and Minnesota Retailers Association signed a letter of support for Rep. Myers’ efforts, along with over 100 food shelves and food banks across the state of Minnesota.