SALT LAKE CITY – Local farms and restaurants battle similar economic pressures as they struggle to survive in a tight economy where slim profit margins and increased labor costs and conditions are often beyond their control.

It certainly doesn’t help when a major food distributor extends its reach around the globe, effectively squeezing out smaller competitors. 

According to a 2024 Gourmet Food Marketplace blog, Sysco Corporation ranks as the largest foodservice supplier in the US, bringing in over $68 billion in annual revenue. 

Sysco’s clients include grocery retailers such as Whole Foods, Kroger and Target, restaurants (Wendy’s, Arby’s, Olive Garden and Panera Bread), healthcare facilities and educational institutions.

The company supplied more than 700,000 customers worldwide with produce, frozen foods, kitchen supplies and equipment. 

In January, Sysco reported a 3 percent increase in sales, with gross profits hitting $3.8 billion. 

The question is, how can local farmers and small Utah food producers compete against such a goliath? 

Help has arrived

Natalie McHale stepped into her role as Utah’s Farm-to-School Specialist in August 2023, a job she said she absolutely loves: “My background is in farming, environmental education, and health equity work within health departments, so this is an opportunity to take everything I learned and care about into one job.”

A USDA state formula grant – awarded through the Utah State Board of Education – fuels her work through September 2026, and McHale hopes the federal funding will get extended into the future. 

McHale recently described the far-reaching benefits of feeding students locally grown food.

“The economic benefits – whether in restaurants or schools – are huge to farmers, not only to their wallets, but they feel good knowing that their community is eating their food rather than it being sent somewhere else,” McHale said. 

And schoolkids get more nutrients from eating fresh, which helps them focus in the classroom and beyond.

“We don’t know necessarily how many meals students are eating in a day when they go home,” McHale said. “So schools are a huge opportunity to make sure kids are getting as much nourishment as possible. And local food is a huge way to help us do that.”

According to the Utah Food Bank, roughly one in five children now grapple with food insecurity statewide, underscoring the need for maximum nutrition at school. 

“[Farm to school] is a key piece in the food system here, just getting kids to start appreciating their food at a young age, empowering schools to source local food and empowering culinary teams within schools to provide that healthier food for those students,” McHale explained. “It can have a huge impact on the state.”

According to Utah Farm to Fork, the nationwide farm-to-school movement began with a handful of schools in the late 1990s and has since mushroomed to more than 42,000 schools in all 50 states, D.C. and US Territories. 

The program also expanded to preschools, child care centers, adult care centers, and non-profit or religious organizations, leading Utah to fully embrace the term “farm to fork.” 

Strong supports

A pair of Utah-based companies – Charlie’s Produce and Nicholas & Co. – have been working to strengthen local supply chains needed for Farm to School to work effectively.

Darren Springer, general manager for Charlie’s Produce, described why the company works to support local farmers.  

“The crop is grown right here, it’s fresher. Customers want it and we like to tell the story about those farmers when we sell their products,” Springer said. “So it’s good all the way around, for the customer, for us and also for the farmer.”

And demand for local produce is growing every year, Springer added.  

“There’s more of it grown and more that we have available to give to our customers. There’s not always enough of it to go around,” he said.

Springer noted that demand has also grown on the food service side where chefs “definitely want to promote local products – that it was grown here in the state. They want to tell the story too.”

In the Diner

With 35 years in Utah’s restaurant business and five street-side eateries to show for it, Ogden resident Kym Buttschardt said she makes a concerted effort to buy local greens, tomatoes and microgreens – particularly in the summer when she can purchase in quantity.

“We’re aligned with a few growers and yes, we believe in it … because it’s not transported. It’s grown in our soil and our sunshine, and it just feels healthy,” Buttschardt said. “It feels like you’re supporting a circular community.”

Pete and Kym Buttschardt own and operate Union Grill at 315 24th Street in Ogden, along with three Roosters Brewpubs – two in Ogden and one in Layton near their bar called The Coop. They also partner in a Roosters at the Salt Lake International Airport.