How a campaign to provide eggs to needy St. Johns seniors brought 'extraordinary' response

Beth Reese Cravey, Florida Times-Union
Updated ·6 min read

They bonded over an egg sandwich.

Johnny Barnes, 71, and Margaret "Miss Margaret" Woods, 80, met when he tagged along on a Pie in the Sky Community Alliance food delivery to her Hastings home.

He had read a Feb. 12 Florida Times-Union story about the St. Johns County nonprofit's fundraising campaign to provide newly-expensive eggs for local seniors on fixed incomes. The story included Woods' comment about how she really missed egg sandwiches.

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"I read it and I was kind of pissed off. It didn't make sense," Barnes said. "You're supposed to have eggs."

Everyone is supposed to have eggs, he said.

The retired restaurant owner and caterer responded first by donating $500 to the egg campaign launched by Pie in the Sky, which works to end senior hunger in St. Johns County. The campaign goal was to give at least one dozen eggs every month to each of the almost 550 seniors Pie in the Sky currently serves.

Then Barnes joined alliance volunteers on their next visit to Woods' home. He made her an egg sandwich — fried eggs on toast. And Thursday, he returned to cook Woods lunch, including deviled eggs and cornbread.

Margaret Woods (center) reacts to being served lunch at her Hastings home by Pie in the Sky Community Alliance volunteer Johnny Barnes (right) and program manager Phyllis Wood of Pie in the Sky Community Alliance. "They are a godsend," she said.
Margaret Woods (center) reacts to being served lunch at her Hastings home by Pie in the Sky Community Alliance volunteer Johnny Barnes (right) and program manager Phyllis Wood of Pie in the Sky Community Alliance. "They are a godsend," she said.

The visits were "wonderful. He's such a good person," she said. "We just sat and had a conversation."

The feelings were mutual.

"I completely fell in love with Miss Margaret," Barnes said.

Words have power, eggs have relatability

Founded seven years ago, Pie in the Sky serves St. Johns County seniors with annual incomes below 200% of the federal poverty line. For a one-person household, that's $29,160 a year; two-person, $39,440, according to 2023 figures.

Volunteers deliver fresh produce, nonperishable food items, other essential items and a bit of socializing to them every two weeks on 38 routes. The nonprofit started out with four volunteers and 12 clients; now there are almost 100 volunteers who bring food to about 550 seniors.

The egg campaign was launched in February, after their cost surged 60 percent in December 2022. Prices have since dropped somewhat — a carton of Grade A eggs cost an average of $3.47 in March, down from $4.82 in January — but are still far higher than the $2 average in February 2022.

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Volunteer Johnny Barnes sprinkles Spanish paprika deviled eggs at Margaret Woods' home in Hastings. Barnes cooked lunch for Woods as part of Pie in the Sky Community Alliance's campaign to provide pricey eggs for needy seniors.
Volunteer Johnny Barnes sprinkles Spanish paprika deviled eggs at Margaret Woods' home in Hastings. Barnes cooked lunch for Woods as part of Pie in the Sky Community Alliance's campaign to provide pricey eggs for needy seniors.

The rising prices stemmed from an increase in holiday demand, higher production costs for farmers and an outbreak of bird flu, a highly contagious virus that can be fatal to poultry such as chickens and turkeys.

Woods bemoaned how so many foods, because of their increasing cost, have become unobtainable delicacies for seniors and others on fixed incomes. But how such a basic item as eggs got so pricey, she said, "I don't understand." So many meals are possible "if you just had an egg," she said.

"There are a lot of people out here out here like me," she said. "A lot of people can't afford to buy fresh food."

So Pie in the Sky started a campaign, the Times-Union published a story and the public responded. The nonprofit has received $30,249 of the $43,956 needed and, through Wednesday, April 12, distributed 1,890 dozen eggs to seniors.

The campaign will continue until the goal is met, the nonprofit's founder and director Malea Guiriba said.

"It has been extraordinary," she said. "Seeing the power of words, the power of a story about such a basic item as an egg and how it moved people to action, it was a testament to the good in people … During these trying times that we live in, it was a breath of fresh air to see how people were moved to put their compassion into action.

"It moved more people in a short amount of time to give more than to any other campaign we have had," she said.

Malea Guiriba, founder and director of Pie in the Sky Community Alliance, which works to end senior hunger in St. Johns County, and one of her clients, Margaret Woods, 80.
Malea Guiriba, founder and director of Pie in the Sky Community Alliance, which works to end senior hunger in St. Johns County, and one of her clients, Margaret Woods, 80.

Individual donations ranged from $10 to $1,000 and included recurring gifts that run through 2063. "This goes to the mantra, 'not everyone can do everything, but everyone can do something.' Pie has always been about giving people the opportunity to be givers," Guiriba said.

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The Marsh Creek Women's Association in St. Augustine donated $561 to cover the cost of Pie in the Sky purchasing eggs for residents of Southern Villas, a 60-unit complex for low-income seniors. The owner of a local homebuilding and development company asked how much one year's worth of eggs for the campaign would cost — $21,978 — and donated that amount.

"So many people could relate to the egg. It's such a basic item, a household staple and for folks to understand that seniors simply cannot afford a dozen eggs seems unimaginable," she said. "I'm glad people are angry about it. We should all be angry about senior hunger."

Volunteer Betty Clark inspects and sorts eggs at the Pie in the Sky Community Alliance warehouse in St. Augustine. After egg prices rose dramatically, the nonprofit began a fundraising campaign to provide eggs for low-income seniors.
Volunteer Betty Clark inspects and sorts eggs at the Pie in the Sky Community Alliance warehouse in St. Augustine. After egg prices rose dramatically, the nonprofit began a fundraising campaign to provide eggs for low-income seniors.

Bonding over an egg sandwich — and Mr. Rogers

But in some cases, the anger led to joy. Watching Barnes and Woods bond over that egg sandwich brought Guiriba to tears.

"That was the best day ever. By the time I got there, Johnny and Miss Margaret were already fast friends," Guiriba said. "She was so welcoming and so grateful and Johnny was so honestly thrilled to be able to be at her house to make her that egg sandwich. She could hardly wait until it cooled off before she took her first bite and … she ate the whole thing.

"She said that was the best egg sandwich she had ever had," Guiriba said.

Then came the emotions.

"While we were sitting at her dining room table Johnny told her that he always used to like watching Mr. Rogers. He said he especially liked the part at the end where Mr. Rogers asked, 'Will you be my neighbor?' Johnny made his own version and said to Miss Margaret, 'Will you be my friend?'

Pie in the Sky Community Alliance program manager Phyllis Wood and volunteer Johnny Barnes say their goodbyes to Margaret Woods. Barnes cooked lunch at Woods' Hastings home after the two bonded over the high price of eggs during an alliance food delivery to Woods.
Pie in the Sky Community Alliance program manager Phyllis Wood and volunteer Johnny Barnes say their goodbyes to Margaret Woods. Barnes cooked lunch at Woods' Hastings home after the two bonded over the high price of eggs during an alliance food delivery to Woods.

"I was about to start sobbing right there and then. It was a very poignant moment," Guiriba said.

The burgeoning friendship between Barnes and Wood was an unexpected benefit of the campaign, as was Guiriba reconnecting with Barnes, who helped Pie in the Sky get off the ground 15 years ago by allowing her to sell pies at his restaurant.

"The simple egg has now brought together two people who would have never otherwise met and given them each an opportunity," she said. "For Miss Margaret, it is the opportunity to feel needed by hosting folks in her home. For Johnny, it is the opportunity to do one of the things he does best — cook good food, not for a paying crowd at a restaurant but for one grateful senior who is now his friend."

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

PIE IN THE SKY COMMUNITY ALLIANCE

To donate online go to pieintheskystjohns.charityproud.org/Donate/?cid=15762. To get help, volunteer or get more information, go to pieintheskystjohns.org or call (904) 382-9939, mail 134 Riberia St., Unit 4, St. Augustine, FL 32084 or email malea@pieintheskystjohns.org.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Florida nonprofit Pie in the Sky helps seniors with high cost of eggs