As a longtime Food Lion customer, I care about where my food comes from — and I’m shocked that Food Lion has quietly backed away from its 2016 promise to go 100 percent cage-free by 2025.

That’s why I’ll be outside Food Lion’s headquarters on April 7, along with many others, delivering a petition signed by nearly 32,000 people. We’re asking Food Lion and its parent company, Ahold Delhaize, to do what they said they would: stop sourcing eggs from hens kept in cages so small they can’t even spread their wings.

Caging hens isn’t just cruel — it’s a public health risk. The USDA reports that as of March 21, 2025, 74 percent of birds lost to bird flu this year came from caged farms. It’s not a system consumers want to support.

Hundreds of companies have gone cage-free. Food Lion has the resources. What’s missing is the transparency and commitment. I hope Food Lion’s leadership listens to its customers, lives up to its sustainability promises, and gets back on track.

— Jeremiah English

China Grove