Bringing more than just good food to the table.

When was the last time you plucked a chicken? How about threshing wheat or milking a cow? For most people today, the answer is never. What used to be a daily survival skill has slipped into the history books, while farmers, ranchers, and a multitude of other hands continue to prepare, package, and produce the food we buy at the grocery store. 

The further removed we became from our food sources, the less we knew about what we were eating and how it was actually produced. Over time, science has brought us new information and innovations to help educate us about making healthier choices and to regulate these food distribution channels. But the shift among many people to not only read labels and buy organic, but to also know more about how their food is sourced, is growing. 

Many restaurants, cafes, and diners seek out local farmers, ranchers, bakers, and others who use ethical environmental and animal processes as well as healthy and nutritious ingredients, building trust with their customers and promoting a sense of community. One example of this is Redmond Farms and their supply partners throughout the state. 

The Redmond Way

Over the past 20-plus years, Redmond has evolved from a small family farm with three cows into a thriving business operating a salt mine, five stores, a milk truck, and a farm full of chickens, pigs, and of course, cows. What started as a desire to provide more nutrient-dense food for their family eventually grew into a mission to offer the same healthy options to customers throughout Utah. 

The words, “We connect people to thoughtfully sourced, carefully crafted food that prioritizes the well being of people, animals, and the environment,” are printed on the wall of their Farm Kitchens, located in Sugar House and Orem, and Redmond employees try to exemplify this theme throughout every aspect of the business. 

Connecting People

What better way to introduce people to your clean farm fare than to serve it hot on a plate and create a space where they can sit down and enjoy it? The urban farmhouse decor and friendly atmosphere of the cafe invite people to stay and talk with friends or bring their laptop and work while they eat, which is part of the strategy behind having a cafe inside the store. 

“You can linger in a cafe in a way that you can’t linger in a grocery store,” says Helena Walker, a buyer for Redmond Farms. “We’ve cultivated such a specific community here. So many of our regulars come here at least once a week. We really are like a family.” And there’s plenty of delicious farm-to-table items to try at the Farm Kitchen. Their menu includes hearty meals like gluten-free oatcakes, garden omelets, chicken pesto paninis, bison burgers, quinoa bowls, smoothies, and more. 

Thoughtfully Sourced

While Redmond provides many of the quality ingredients for their menu, like raw dairy, eggs, and sausage, they source other staples from local farms and vendors. The items these partners supply may be varied, but the one thing they have in common is the care they put into their operations and the quality of their products. 

“That’s something we don’t scrimp on,” says Page Westover, owner of Snuck Farms in Pleasant Grove. “We’re monitoring [quality] from seeding to harvesting to packaging. Everyone knows what to look for and what’s not acceptable and what is. I don’t want stuff out there that shouldn’t be out there.” 

Westover, who uses hydroponic farming techniques to provide many of the greens used and sold at the Farm Kitchen stores, appreciates working with other local businesses like Redmond, that have the same standards. “Our customer base crosses over a lot, and they value what we value as far as nourishing food and health.” 

Carefully Crafted

It’s not just the quality of the end products that these conscientious vendors take pride in, it’s also about their processes. Take the owner of La Barba Coffee, for example. “He cares that his coffee is being made correctly,” says Walker. “He’s frequently the guy who comes in to redial our espresso machine. The best thing with intentionally sourcing anything is just knowing the people who are making it.”  

Being familiar with the processes and people who are providing what you eat is especially important when it comes to raw milk, the Farm Kitchen’s #1 seller, which you can get once you sign their online raw milk release form. “As of now, the legislature requires that we test one batch per month for four different pathogens,” explains Walker. “We test every single batch. If it seems like there’s even something slightly a little bit off, we bite the bullet and don’t sell the milk, even if it might be okay.” 

Having healthy milk isn’t just about the absence of impurities; it starts back at the farm. “We really do just have to be so on top of the health of our cows,” says Walker. “Everything has to be so clean, like the milking floor literally looks like a surgical theater. It is so pristine. When we say farm-to-table, we mean our farm, and that we’re checking every piece of the process.” 

Prioritizing Well-being 

Nico Barber of Nico’s Fresh Salsa in St. George, uses Redmond’s Real Salt® in his salsa and is also a supplier to the Farm Kitchens, demonstrating the collaborative power of the farm-to-table network. “We’re really hyper local, because we want to integrate as much of the community as possible,” says Barber. 

One example of how his company is supporting the community is Switch Point Gardens. This non-profit uses an eco-friendly, aeroponic method to grow the cilantro Nico uses, along with other greens, while also providing a way to help address poverty. According to their website, 25 percent of what they grow goes back into their soup kitchen and all of the proceeds are used to help end homelessness in Southern Utah. 

When it comes to the goal of enhancing the overall well-being of people, animals, and the environment, this ever-growing network of farm-to-table suppliers and producers is showing how it can be done. “I think it all comes down to are we comfortable with feeding [this food] to our own kids,” says Barber. “Why would we buy produce from out of state when we can go down the street and see where it’s grown? The more we can do to work together with the producers in the state, the better.”

With a chain of businesses like this making conscientious efforts to build community, provide better products, and offer transparency, those of us who have no idea how to raise cattle or even grow a vegetable garden can go back to trusting and even appreciating the hands that feed us.

Feature Image: Page Westover, owner of Snuck Farms in Pleasant Grove. Photo by John Taylor.