Egg Recall Got You Down? There Are Other Options

One of the largest national recalls grew to more than half-a-billion eggs Saturday. However, consumers nervous over salmonella, who still have a hankering for a morning omelet can find healthier alternatives right here at home.

Monroe farmers raise chickens and sell the fresh eggs they lay in at least three different locations, including Benedict's Home & Garden, Waterview Farm and O'Hara's Nursery.

"I think people really want to know where their food comes from," said Pat O'Hara, owner of O'Hara's Nursery, 282 Shelton Road. "And anytime there's a recall like with the salmonella, people become aware of the disconnect between people and their food. 'Are my apples coming from China or New York State?'"

O'Hara, who started raising chickens in March, has 11 Rhode Island Reds in his pen. A sign in front of a mini-refrigerator on one table reads: "Self-serve, $3 a dozen. Change inside fridge."

The farmer, who is also a Planning & Zoning commissioner in town, said locals have been snapping 'em up.

"Two dozen eggs in my fridge. That's all I got," O'Hara said with a grin. "Since they've been laying, we've been selling."

The nursery is not the largest egg producer in town. When O'Hara decided to raise chickens he sought the advice of Bruce Benedict and Frank Schrodl Jr., who owns Waterview Farm.

On a cloudy Saturday afternoon, Jane Flader left the retail area of Benedict's Home & Garden, 480 Purdy Hill Road, exiting through a back door. She was on her way to the large coup housing over 100 birds to the rear of the property.

Flader owns the business with her brother Bruce.

"We grew up with them basically all our lives," Flader said of the chickens. "We had to weigh the eggs. It started with my grandfather."

Merna Goett, Jane and Bruce's mother, said her father-in-law, Ralph Benedict, started farming on the property in 1917, before her late husband Bill took over the operation.

"At one point we had over 250 chickens where the store is," Goett recalled.

Flader estimates that her 100 chickens produce about 600 eggs a week.

She unlocked a metal gate and clucking could be heard in the distance. Brown chickens and white roosters walked around the pen and some were perched on the roof of a hen house inside.

"It's important to have netting on the top here," Flader said, pointing above the fence. "It keeps the hawks and raccoons out."

"The brown chickens are called red cross and lay brown eggs," she said. "New England is known for its brown eggs."

Flader said Americanas, another variety of chickens, lay blue eggs.

They taste better

Waterview Farm is located at 1366 Monroe Turnpike. A sign near the mailbox advertises fresh eggs for sale. O'Hara said Schrodl raises about 200 chickens on his property.

Patch was unable to reach Schrodl for comment in time for this story.

While O'Hara charges $3 a dozen for his eggs, Benedict's charges anywhere from $2.99 to $3.49, depending on the size of the eggs.

Supermarkets offer organic eggs for similar prices, but O'Hara said they're not all they're cracked up to be.

"Even their organic eggs have travel time," he said. "The further food travels, the more natural value you're losing." O'Hara glanced at his fridge and added, "The eggs in there were laid yesterday."

Aside from nutrition, Flader and O'Hara said there is another reason why customers buy their eggs.

"They're fresher. They taste better," Flader said. "If you put them in a frying pan, the yolk is higher."

The only eggs O'Hara digests are in the baked goods he eats, but he said, "Those who eat these eggs say the taste is better, the texture is better and the appearance is better."

To O'Hara, recent news reports over the national egg recall serve as a reminder to shop locally.

"We need to continue to reinforce our agricultural roots in the state of Connecticut," he said. "We need to support our farms and we need to support our farmers."