Soon or later almost every person with backyard chickens runs into the same problem: too many eggs. While a small flock may only yield an excess of a dozen eggs a week, a larger flock means more eggs, and more excess. Some people choose to give the eggs away, while others sell them and recoup some of the cost associated with the chickens.  One backyard chicken owner in Monticello, MN, took the profit from his extra eggs and donated it to a good cause.

 

“I was selling a dozen eggs for $3.50,” said Scott Peterson, a backyard chicken owner. Scott was selling about five dozen eggs a week and using the money from the sale to pay for feed, replenish birds as they stopped laying, and pay for supplies needed to maintain his flock.

 

On the way home from work in 2001, his daughter Laura rolled her car, and, after several rounds of tests, was diagnosed with epilepsy.  Laura soon became an advocate for epilepsy education and research in Monticello and across Minnesota. One day she suggested to her dad that he raise the price of a dozen eggs by one dollar and donate the difference to epilepsy research. Scott obliged his daughter and Eggs for Epilepsy was born.

 

"Every year I write a check for about $300," he said, one dollar for each dozen eggs sold. In addition to his yearly donations from Eggs for Epilepsy, Scott supported his daughter as she organized walks and fundraisers for epilepsy research and became an advocate for epilepsy education in Minnesota.

 

A few years later, Laura was diagnosed with cancer, and, after a protracted battle, died in December, 2013.

 

Scott continues to donate $300 every year to epilepsy research.

 

To donate money to epilepsy research, visit Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy. For more information on raising chickens visit Carl’s Chickens.

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