NC farm supplies 40K eggs for White House roll

Braswell Family Farms, a Christian-based poultry farm in Nashville, North Carolina, said it planned to continue its long tradition of donating to the White House’s annual Easter Egg Roll, taking place on Monday, April 6, and would dedicate 40,000 eggs to the cause.

The family-friendly egg-roll event dates back to 1878, during the presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes, although it has been canceled on occasion due to inclement weather, world wars, and a certain global pandemic.

In addition to the classic rolling competition, the event — which uses a lottery system to distribute tickets to the public — has grown to include an array of egg hunts, performances and ovo-centric activities.

“It’s something that’s been going on for a long time, for America’s children of all backgrounds and all socioeconomic levels to be able to come and to be on the White House lawn and enjoy celebrating Easter,” said Ronald “Trey” Braswell III, president and CEO of Braswell Family Farms.

Braswell told the Carolina Journal that his family’s business had been participating in the tradition for nearly three decades, ever since they acquired Virginia-based Glenwood Farms in 1997.

At the time, the event was organized by the Virginia Egg Council, and the farm initially contributed 18,000 eggs.

“Back then — really, until the last few years — we just produced the eggs and took them up to DC to a catering kitchen out there that the White House had chosen, and they did all the work to get them dyed and prepared,” Braswell said.

That changed, however, when COVID-19 forced a two-year suspension of the egg roll in 2020 and 2021. After regrouping, the task of organizing the time-honored event fell to the American Egg Board, and the job of prepping the eggs fell to the egg providers themselves.

The Braswells have since partnered with another family-run business, Winston–Salem-based catering company The Stocked Pot, which hard-boils and hand-dyes them “a pot full of eggs at a time.”

Despite the extra work involved, Braswell said the entire farm staff took pride in being a part of the egg roll, which offered an opportunity for the nation to put partisan politics aside while observing the holiest of days on the Christian calendar.

“It’s always great when we can kind of drop the battles and focus on good things — and it’s just a day full of joy, laughter, spring,” he said.

Braswell first participated in the egg roll as a child, calling it a “surreal” experience. Yet, returning to it in recent years made it no less magical.

“As a kid, it’s just hard to imagine,” he said. “Honestly, as an adult, it’s the same thing: Being on the lawn of the White House, the president and the first lady come out on the balcony — on the back steps — to speak, and then actually go down onto the lawn to roll the first egg.”

This year, the process was made even more special when Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins visited the farm in person to tour the facilities and participate in a roundtable talk with local egg and soy producers.

“People got to share and voice their concerns with her on things from tariffs, to vaccines for highly pathogenic avian influenza [also known as H5N1], to demand for US products around the world,” Braswell said.

He said Rollins was “a joy to be around” and took seriously the concerns the farmers raised.

“She certainly seemed to listen,” Braswell said.

“I had not ever met a secretary of agriculture, and so I get the impression that she’s a great one,” he added. “She’s been out to visit multiple other farms and agricultural leaders, so she’s taken the time to get out and meet with people and listen to them. We’re just really thankful for that.”

Although Braswell was not at liberty to divulge the details in advance, he said there may other surprises in store for this year’s egg roll, including a special stamp on the eggs.

“I don’t know that I can talk about what it is right now, but, yeah, there’s something exciting that’ll be on the egg itself,” he said.

“Everything’s big this year because of the 250th anniversary of America,” he added.

“NC farm supplies 40K eggs for White House roll” was originally published on www.carolinajournal.com.