Like many businesses that adopt sustainable practices, Hickman's Family Farms did so first because the changes were financially sound.
New River artist Karen Friend is headed to the White House to represent Arizona at the annual White House Easter Egg competition during the 2008 Easter festivities in Washington D.C. According to Sharman Hickman Silva, nine Valley artists had their decorated egg creations judged January 2 at Banner Estrella Medical Center for the chance to represent Arizona at the national competition. Hickman’s Family Farms sponsored the event.
Hickman’s holds the contest each year at Banner Estrella to allow professional and amateur artists the opportunity to decorate an egg that best represents the state of Arizona. Decorators are required to use only Hickman’s size large chicken eggs, with contents removed, and the small end of the egg pointed up. As part of the partnership, Hickman’s also made a donation to Banner Estrella Women and Infants Services.
Karen Friend learned how to decorate eggs as part of a class she took at the Cave Creek Museum. Her class instructor, Fran Hunold of Cave Creek, was a participant and past winner of the competition. Hunold jokingly remarked about Friend’s win, “I am so proud of her but I am so upset.”
Hickman’s Family Farms, producers of fresh eggs in Arizona since 1944, have been “scrambling” to help local food banks. On December 6, 2007, their volunteer team of family and staff members helped make “Breakfast for Dinner” for 500 guests of the St. Vincent de Paul’s dining room, which involved making omelets with all the trimmings for everyone in less than half an hour. Howard Helmer, known as the world’s fastest omelet maker, flew in from New York to assist. Also lending support were Shamrock Farms, Bar-S Foods Co., and Holsum Bakery.
On December 13, Hickman’s delivered 108,000 (9,000 dozen) fresh shell eggs to St. Mary’s Food Bank. The donation came in response to a public appeal from the food bank for donations because of a shortage of staples for its emergency food boxes. Hickman’s spokesperson, Sharman Hickman Silva states, “We believe a hot breakfast with Hickman’s eggs is the best nutritious, protein-rich way to start the day. We’re also grateful to Bar-S for rounding out the meal with pre-cooked bacon.”
For more information about Hickman’s Family Farms, visit www.hickmanseggs.com.
Thanks to Hickman’s Family Farms, Shamrock Farms, and the Joe Foss Institute, the Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) is “legal.” On May 22, the PUSD hosted a presentation for the U.S. Flag and U.S. Constitution Class Installation Project at the Peoria High School Performing Arts Center. Hickman’s Family Farms presented a check to the Joe Foss Institute to cover the cost of putting a flag and a copy of the Constitution in every classroom in the Peoria Unified School District, grades 7 and up.
Last year, the Arizona State Legislature approved a bill which requires that a flag and a constitution be posted in all classrooms, grades 7 and up. The Peoria Unified School District became the first school district to meet the state-mandated requirements.
Ginny Hildebrand, Executive Director of the Association of Arizona Food Banks, says that Hickman’s Family Farms has committed to providing 60,000 dozen eggs to food banks throughout the state during the weeks prior to Easter. Ginny says, “This will represent the single largest donation of protein in the Association’s history. We are grateful to have such a wonderful source of nutrition to benefit our clients.”
Hickman’s Family Farms also supports many egg hunts and Easter festivals throughout Arizona with donations of eggs. Clint Hickman observes, “After 63 years, we are still pleased to be an integral part of so many activities in the local community. We also would like to encourage people to set aside a bit of the candy, and rediscover the simple pleasures of coloring Easter eggs.”
For more information, visit www.hickmanseggs.com.
Hickman's Farms hatched in 1940s at Phoenix home
Clint Hickman likes his eggs cooked over easy, especially when his mom makes them.
She's the reason he got into eggs in the first place and why he has spent his life working with his family to make their Southwest Valley-based business a success.
But the story of how Hickman's Family Farms, Arizona's only commercial egg producer, came to exist goes back even further.
In the 1940s, Clint's grandmother, Nell Hickman, decided to buy some chickens. She raised them in the backyard of her Phoenix home, hoping to make some extra money.
After hand washing the eggs, she sold them to neighbors and small independent restaurants while her husband continued his job as an ironworker. When her eggs were packaged, she made sure they boasted the Hickman name.
In the early 1960s, Clint's mom tried her hand at egg farming. Gertie Hickman bought 500 chickens to add to grandma's flock of around 250.
And the business just kept growing.
Finally, Clint's father, Bill Hickman, quit his job as a manager of a Glendale Standard Oil Filling Station to give the egg business a full run.
He traded his boat for a freezer truck to transport the eggs and a chicken statue.
The family, which started selling eggs as a side hobby, has now established itself as the main egg producer in Arizona.
"When my parents started, there were 10,000 egg companies in the United States and there were more than 150 egg companies in Arizona, some that were much larger than us," Clint said. "But we just kept coming to work every day and we just got bigger. Everyone else went away. We've been the only commercial egg producer in Arizona now for a solid decade."
Today the chicken statue stands outside of Hickman's Buckeye offices, just about 15 minutes from their farm in Arlington.
Most of the big egg producers are in central United States. Those farmers, in states like Indiana, Ohio and Iowa with land surrounded by fields, have cheaper corn prices and transport their eggs to the East and West coasts.
Since he grew up watching the business develop, Clint has learned about the struggles of running an egg farm.
Egg farmers have no government subsidies, and it's difficult to find workers who want to spend their days boxing eggs, he said.
Clint now runs Hickman's Family Farms with his brothers, Glenn and Billy, and sister Sharman. The siblings are always searching for ways to increase business. Hickman's started shipping eggs to California, Nevada, Texas and Hawaii, adding to its sales in Arizona.
In addition to Hickman's Arlington farm and one in Maricopa, the family also has a ranch in Colorado, a move that now has the family's eggs in the Denver market. The company also has partnerships in South Dakota and California.
The family plans to expand the Arlington farm so it can increase egg production.
They have a liquid egg-processing plant in Arlington and within the next month they will begin selling hard-boiled eggs.
"At times in the market, it doesn't pay very well to be in this business.
You put your savings back into the business and roll the dice. It has worked
so far," Clint said. "We've always wanted to try new things and right
now this is the time in our history we are branching into other areas. But we
are still involved with eggs every step of the way."
Meghan E. Moravcik
The Arizona Republic
May. 24, 2007
More than 500 Peoria Unified classrooms are being outfitted with flags and copies of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, thanks to a $12,000 donation from Hickman Family Farms.
The state Legislature last year required the flags and documents be in public school classrooms by July.
Support from Hickman Family Farms, the Joe Foss Institute and Shamrock Farms
will help bring Peoria schools into compliance.
The district celebrated the donation with a presentation at the Peoria High School Performing Arts Center on Tuesday.
The Joe Foss Institute is dedicated to the restoration of patriotism, integrity and the appreciation of America’s freedoms. More at www.jfiweb.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 18, 2007
Contact: Jim Cummings, APR
Fax: 623-486-6096
e-mail: jcummings@peoriaud.k12.az.us
PUSD HOLDS PRESENTATION FOR FLAG AND CONSTITUTION INSTALLATION PROJECT
WHO:Peoria Unified School District, Hickman's Family Farms, Shamrock Farms, the Joe Foss Institute
WHAT: U.S. Flag and U.S. Constitution Classroom Installation Project Presentation
WHEN: Tuesday, May 22, 9 a.m.
WHERE: Peoria High School Performing Arts Center, 11200 N. 83rd Avenue
PEORIA, Ariz. – Last year, the Arizona State Legislature approved a bill which requires a flag and copies of the U.S. Constitution and U.S. Bill of Rights to be posted in all classrooms seventh-grade and up. Thanks to the generous support of the Joe Foss Institute, Hickman's Family Farms and Shamrock Farms, the Peoria Unified School District (PUSD) will meet the state requirements on time.
PUSD will celebrate this feat by hosting a presentation for its U.S. Flag and U.S. Constitution Classroom Installation Project at the Peoria High School Performing Arts Center on Tuesday, May 22 at 9 a.m. The presentation will include a video produced by the Joe Foss Institute and a check presentation from Hickman's Family Farms. The check will go to the Joe Foss Institute, and will cover the cost of putting the flags and copies of the Constitution and Bill of Rights in over 500 PUSD classrooms.
[from The Daily Sentinel, Grand Junction, Colorado]
By MIKE SACCONE, The Daily Sentinel
Friday, March 30, 2007
That's a lot of omelets.
Andrew Coonan, agency coordinator for the Western Slope Food Bank of the Rockies,
said the donation of more than 43,000 eggs to his organization works out to
roughly 20,000 omelets or, more practically, 2,500 well-fed families on Easter.
Coonan said the eggs, donated by Arizona-based Hickman's Family Farms, which
recently purchased the Grand Mesa Eggs Inc. facility on 21 Road, are slated
to arrive this morning around 11 a.m. at the food bank's Grand Junction warehouse,
located at 734 Scarlet Drive.
"It's an incredible amount of eggs; it's a wonderful donation," Coonan
said.
After the food bank receives the eggs, they will be distributed to a variety
of local aid agencies, including Catholic Outreach and the Salvation Army, he
said.
By the end of the first week of April, each of the eggs likely will either be
painted, hidden or devoured by a Western Slope family, Coonan said.
Clint Hickman, co-owner of Hickman's Family Farms, said the donation was a way for his company to get involved in its new community.
Grand Mesa Eggs has been renamed Colorado Egg.
Hickman said the donation was also a way to help low-income families enjoy the tradition of egg painting that they might not otherwise be able to afford.
"A lot of underprivileged people don't have a chance to buy eggs to do that," Hickman said.
He said whether families eat the eggs or use them to celebrate the Easter holiday,
Hickman's Family Farms and their newest addition, Colorado Egg, is happy to
help make that happen.
Dear Friends,
Marsha Rossell of Phoenix placed first at the 3rd Annual Arizona White House
Easter Egg Competition Event, held at Banner Estrella Medical Center on January
3, 2007.
On April 3, 2007 the White House Easter Egg display event was held in Washington,
D.C. First Lady Laura Bush greeted the state egg artists and their guests at
the White House Visitor Center and had individual photos taken with each artist.
Following the photo session, the 125 artists and guests enjoyed a luncheon on
the top of the Hotel Washington which features an unsurpassed view of the White
House, the Washington Monument and of the city. At the gathering, each artist
was presented with a May Is Egg Month cooler bag filled with American Egg Board
promotional items and thanked for their participation.
On a beautiful, clear, sunny, 80-degree day with the cherry blossoms at their
peak, the group wound up their very special event with a tour of the White House.
The entire display and each individual state egg can be seen on the White House
website at:
www.whitehouse.gov/easter/2007/eggsbystate/
A picture of Mrs. Bush in front of the display can be seen at:
www.whitehouse.gov/firstlady/arts.html
Hickman's Family Farms says thanks to all current participating (and future)
artists, Banner Estrella Medical Campus and their public relations specialists,
and our local judges.
Happy Easter,
Sharman Hickman Silva
From America's Bridle and Bit (March 20, 2007)
Ginny Hildebrand, Executive Director of the Association of Arizona Food Banks, says that Hickman's Family Farms has committed to providing 60,000 dozen eggs (720,00 shell eggs) to food banks throughout the state during the weeks prior to Easter. Ginny says, "This will represent the single largest donation of protein in the Association's history. We are grateful to have such a wonderful source of nutrition to benefit our clients."
Quantities delivered to the various food banks will vary depending on the number of people to be served, and will range from 500 dozen to 9,500 dozen. Deliveries are scheduled for:
Care & Share Food Bank, Flagstaff
Community Food Bank, Tucson (March 22 and 27)
Desert Mission Food Bank, Phoenix
Northern Arizona Food Bank, Flagstaff (March 23 and 27)
Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Phoenix
Southeast Arizona Food Bank, Willcox
St. Mary's Food Bank, Phoenix, (March 27)
United Food Bank, Mesa (March 21)
Wilson-Batiz Borderland Food Bank, Nogales
Yuma Community Food Bank, Yuma (March 21 and 28)
This week, a registered dietitian reporting for a Pennsylvania NBC affiliate called eggs "probably the best way to get a number of healthy benefits out of one food product" and an iVillage.com newsletter focused on hard-cooked eggs, calling them a "fabulous snack" that is "chockfull of protein and omega-3s."
In addition to supplying area food banks, Hickman's Family Farms also supports many egg hunts and Easter festivals throughout Arizona with donations of eggs and egg products. Clint Hickman observes, "We've been family owned and operated in since 1944. We're the only local source of fresh eggs in Arizona, and take immense pride in the high quality, versatile, and natural product that we provide. After 63 years, we are still pleased to be an integral part of so many activities in the local community.
For additional information, visit www.hickmanseggs.com.
Have you ever seen 5,000 dozen eggs in one place? Well, here's your chance.
Hickman Family Farms in Buckeye, Arizona delivered approximately 5,000 dozen
eggs to the Community Food Bank on Friday, March 23, 2007 at 9:00 AM. 4,640
dozen eggs will benefit Tucson's Table agencies. 360 dozen eggs will go for
this year's Easter egg hunts and activities at Kid's Club sites in Tucson. The
delivery will be made to the Community Food Bank, 3003 S. Country Club Road.
The eggs will be picked up by the Kid's Club sites for use during their annual
Easter activities. The Community Food Banks Kid's Club program (formerly Kids
Café) operates three days a week at nine different sites in the greater
Tucson area - serving a total of 516 children every day. The Food Bank partners
with the Tucson Parks and Recreation KIDCO program to provide children free,
nutritious snacks and a lesson in nutrition education.
Tucson's Table provides dry and perishable food and non-food products packed
in retail and institutional size packing for use by non-profit (501 (c) (3)
agencies with on-site feeding programs. Tucson's Table is currently serving
over 400 agency feeding sites. The eggs will benefit the children served by
the agencies along with other programs.
"The donation of the eggs by Hickman Farms is appreciated. The egg hunts
and Easter activities will be a lot of fun for the kids," said Sandra Vijsma,
Child Nutrition Programs Manager.
The egg donations statewide are being coordinated by the Association of Arizona
Food Banks in Phoenix.
For more information, please contact Jack Parris at 622-0525 x 215.
It is doubtful that chickens know, or care, where their eggs go after they lay them.
But we suspect they would be happy to know that they were going to a good cause, if chickens could, in fact, be happy about anything.
In any case, a bunch of chickens from Hickman's Family Farms "volunteered" more than 1.2 million hours, or an average of 25 hours per egg, laying the 48,000 eggs the company donated to St. Vincent de Paul.
That means that not only will needy people be fed, but their children were able to enjoy an Easter tradition.
St. Vincent de Paul set aside 100 eggs for children to dye Tuesday and Wednesday at its main campus in Phoenix.
"The children had so much fun with this simple pleasure and it was moving to watch their joy," said Susan de Queljoe, a spokeswoman for St. Vincent de Paul.
The remaining eggs will be used for meals at the organization's five Valley
dining rooms and placed in food boxes for needy families.