State announces investments to keep 'Utah-grown food in Utah'

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah announced more than $9 million in grant funds will be awarded to local farmers this year as part of an expanded program to help strengthen the state's food supply.

It's the first investment in what is expected to include up to $50 million over the next half decade, thanks to federal Rural Health Transformation funding. Utah is using the money to expand its Food Security Grant, which will help farmers and ranchers improve processing, storage and distribution.

"Stronger rural communities means a stronger Utah," Gov. Spencer Cox said Tuesday while announcing the grants at Cross E Ranch in Salt Lake City. "Every Utahn deserves the opportunity to succeed, no matter where they live. This investment that we're talking about here today will help ensure that rural communities have the same opportunities to grow and succeed as anywhere else in the state."

The governor noted that supply chain issues dating back to the COVID-19 pandemic era have highlighted the need to have strong local supply chains, particularly when it comes to food.

"Food security is about more than just agriculture, though. It's about resilience. It's about economic opportunity, and ultimately, it's about healthy communities," he said. "That means new opportunities for farmers, ranchers, food businesses and local communities."

Utah plans to invest a total of $11 million this year, with $9.3 million going directly to local farmers and ranchers through competitive grants, according to Utah Department of Agriculture and Food Commissioner Kelly Pehrson. Those include standard grants up to $1 million, microgrants of between $1,000 and $10,000 and awards up to $50,000 to help startup businesses within their first year of operation.

Businesses must use at least 51% Utah-grown or Utah-raised ingredients, sell or distribute at least 25% of their product to consumers in rural Utah and use the money to produce at least one food item. Grants applications opened Tuesday and run through Aug. 31.

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food has been administering the Food Security Grant for several years, but this year's injection of capital is thanks to federal funding appropriated by Congress through last year's so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act, according to Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper. The department partners with Utah's Department of Health and Human Services and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide the grant.

He said the money fits in with the "Make America Healthy Again" movement and will help local farmers compete against national corporations that have dominated the agricultural sector.

"That system has its efficiencies, but it also has its vulnerabilities," the speaker said. He said the grant is "about making sure our communities aren't entirely dependent upon a handful of national companies to feed our families. ... It's about keeping more Utah-grown food in Utah."

As little as one-fifth of the agricultural products grown or raised in Utah are actually processed and consumed in the state, according to Wade Garrett, Utah Farm Bureau vice president.

"Most of our cattle — which is our biggest cash crop — go somewhere else to be processed and come back through one of the larger processors," he said. "We do keep most of our fruits and vegetables, but unfortunately, we don't grow enough of them right now. Hopefully, this will help encourage people to plant more of those."

The grants can be used to address a variety of needs, from equipment to marketing, according to Pehrson.

The way produce is processed is another hurdle, he said.

"Why don't school districts just take local vegetables? It's got to be processed in a form that they can accept it," Pehrson said. "Those are the big gaps we're seeing and so this grant, hopefully, can entice companies to come and do packing ... the way that it needs processed, so that can get to hospitals, schools, institutions."

He said Utahns already "know the value of local food," from peaches grown in Brigham City to watermelons from Green River.

"The demand is there," he said. "Our job as an agency is to help close the gaps in between."

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