CINCINNATI — As egg prices reached record highs this year, one local farm found a creative way to keep an Easter tradition alive and give back to the community in the process.

What You Need To Know

  • Young's Jersey Dairy hosted their 42nd annual Easter Egg Hunt Sunday

  • This year was the first time the farm swapped out real eggs for plastic ones

  • A portion of the funds saved from purchasing plastic eggs will go to support local food banks

Young’s Jersey Dairy, located in Yellow Springs, typically hard-boils between 10,000 and 12,000 eggs for its annual Easter Egg Hunt. But this year, with the cost of eggs surging, the farm swapped out real eggs for plastic ones.

That change didn’t deter longtime participants like Katherine Brandon, who brought her grandchildren to the event Sunday.

“They are really manageable, but you know kids will be kids,” Brandon said. “This is their day. Let them enjoy it.”

The Brandon family was among hundreds who turned out for the farm’s 42nd annual hunt, a cherished event that has become a multigenerational tradition.

“It’s good to keep family together,” Brandon said. “I really, truly believe that.”

John Young, known as the CIEIO of Young’s Jersey Dairy, said the event is a family effort in more ways than one. “Most of the people out there laying eggs are our family members,” Young said. “Like literally, we stop doing things with our family, church, or whatever. We come here to put all the eggs together for the community.”

Young said a portion of the money saved by using plastic eggs will go to support both the Second Harvest Food Bank in Springfield and The Foodbank in Dayton.

“Each of them is getting about $1,500, which they say makes a big impact,” Young said. “One dollar helps provide four meals, so that’s a lot of meals going out to our community.”

Each plastic egg handed out also contained a ticket for a free ride on the farm’s carousel, a favorite among both kids and adults. “I love the carousel just as much as the kids do,” Brandon said.