Local Partner: Sauder’s Eggs

We Love Our #Local Partners!

As a local business, we believe we have a responsibility to support our fellow local partners, who produce the best quality products for our community each and every day. In particular, we want to recognize one awesome partner that keeps our dairy case stocked with delicious eggs from local farms. We share a wonderful 30+ year partnership with Sauder’s Eggs which continues to thrive. Together, we provide healthy, quality egg products to the people of Lancaster County.

History of Sauder’s Eggs

Sauder’s story all began with Frank Sauder, who started his door-to-door business in the 1930’s during the Depression Era. Several mornings a week, in the early hours before dawn, Sauder departed his Lancaster County farmhouse for Philadelphia. With him, he brought a small truckload of the freshest vegetables, poultry, and eggs from his neighbors’ farms. Sauder’s reputation for quality and fair prices grew, and so did the number of his customers. Frank Sauder’s early morning journeys marked the beginning for the family of companies that now comprise one of America’s leading processors and marketers of fresh eggs.

He and his son continued to grow the business, and established a strong operating standard which remains to this day. Their standard of excellence all starts with their advanced-breed hens, whose health they closely monitor. Their family name is known for the quality of their eggs, thus the eggs their hens lay must meet Sauder’s expectations.

These standards include:

• Good Taste
• Nutritional Value
• Safety

How can you be sure that Sauder’s is committed to safety? In addition to carrying out their own testing practices, they also turn to independent technicians and labs. This ensures that the eggs you take home to enjoy are guaranteed to have met the required standards. Sauder’s maintains strict refrigeration, shipping, and handling guidelines. They own every truck in their fleet to manage each truck’s temperature settings themselves, and ultra sound technology detects cracks in eggs during inspection. Best of all, Sauder’s prints the use by date on every carton stocked so that consumers know that the eggs they purchase are fresh.

Humane Animal Raising Practices

Sauder’s prides themselves on their safe practices for raising their chickens. They truly care for the hens that produce their eggs! After all, happy and healthy chickens produce higher quality eggs. With their network of over 120 local (mostly family-owned and operated) farmers that supply them, they remain dedicated to the humane treatment of their hens. Just to name a few of the measures they take to provide their chickens with safe space to live, Sauder’s provides them with:

• Nutritious feed without any added hormones
• 24/7 access to clean water and fresh air
• Sufficient space based on scientific recommendations

Read about additional care guidelines on their website.

Varieties

What do each of the egg varieties mean?

• Cage Raised: These eggs provide you with the best value. These cage-raised hens are treated humanely and maintain a diet best suited to their needs.
• Cage Free: Raised in a stress-free environment, they are free to roam within their large, heated and air-cooled growing houses with no outside access. They behave as though they are in their natural habitat, and lay their eggs in dark, quiet places. A 1.25 square feet per bird guideline provides them with ample space.
• Free Range: Chickens with access to the outdoors (not necessarily every day or constant access) are considered to be Free Range. They must also have 2 square feet available per chicken, and be allowed 6 hours per day that they are outdoors. Some factors, such as weather and predators, can limit their time spent outdoors. Free Range eggs usually have more nutrients present.
• Pasture Raised: These hens have access to the outdoors on a regular basis. As they are omnivores in their natural habitats, their diet on these farms closely mimics that which they’d experience in the wild. In addition to Sauder’s Gold Feed, they snack on seeds, natural grass, and insects. Their lifestyle is much cleaner and less stressful compared to alternatives.

Life at Organic Farms

Sauder’s Organic Eggs are produced by hens that receive a special diet and treatment. Their rations include ingredients that were grown without pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, hormones, or commercial fertilizers from the day of their birth. Each chicken never receives drugs. They are free to roam throughout their hen house and have access to the outdoors, on real grass where they can forage and enjoy the sunshine! During inspection, Sauder’s automated candler uses ultrasound and a series of sensors to give 24 separate quality checks to every Sauder’s Organic Egg.

Why Eat Sauder’s Eggs?

Not only is Sauder’s committed to providing you with the safest, most delicious eggs around, but they encourage you to incorporate them into your weekly diet. There are a number of health benefits associated with egg consumption, which you can read about on their website! There are countless ways that you can use eggs in dishes to feed your family, so check out our recipes page for some fantastic ideas. We sincerely appreciate our partnership with Sauder’s Eggs, and look forward to our continued growth as two #local companies supporting the community in which we live.

Thank You, Sauder’s Eggs!