'Touch of Utah' subscription food box designed to help Utah farmers and ranchers

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SANDY — It is just cardboard with some stuff inside, but the meaning behind it is one Utah farmers are happy about after a tough year.

"This program right here is one that is really exciting," said Ron Gibson, president of the Utah Farm Bureau. "It's putting a smile on farmers' and ranchers' faces across the state."

It's called Touch of Utah.

It's a monthly food subscription box where Utah farmers send their products directly to your front door. The Utah Farm Bureau started it in July as a way to help farmers with some extra business at a time where they could really use some.

"This drought has been really hard, COVID has been really hard, and the trade wars before that," said Gibson. "This is now our opportunity as a state to say we want local agriculture here in the state of Utah."

The box is similar to other food subscription services such as Blue Apron and Hello Fresh, except with Touch of Utah, everything is from the Beehive State.

July's box includes items such as cheese from the Heber Valley, rib-eye steaks from Duchesne County, cherries from Utah County, toffee from the Cache Toffee Collection, mushrooms from Millard County and salsa from Salsitas Mendoza in South Salt Lake.

"We're looking at really high-quality products, and this isn't stuff that took 10 days to get shipped here and got frozen for three months only to make it to your doorstep old," said Joshua Palmer.

Palmer is the CEO of Cogburn Wire Company, which built the software so people can subscribe to this service online. He said feels it's important the subscription box stay Utah-only.

"If you're not a local producer, you don't get in our box and you don't get in our marketplace," said Palmer.

Not only will sales of the subscription box help Utah farmers, but they will also go toward another Utah Farm Bureau Program called Farmers Feeding Utah. That has been bringing food to people and communities in Utah who could use a little extra help for the past year and continues today.

"Farmers Feeding Utah is the coolest thing that's happened in a long time and it's the best thing that's ever happened out of COVID," said Gibson.

The Utah Farm Bureau is hoping for this new program, Touch of Utah, will end up being just as cool.

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Alex Cabrero

Alex Cabrero has been reporting for KSL since 2004. During his time in Salt Lake City, he has covered several high-profile Utah stories, including the Crandall Canyon mine collapse, the Trolley Square shootings, and the Susan Powell missing person case. He has also covered national and international stories for KSL with Utah connections, such as Hurricane Katrina from the Gulf Coast, the devastating California wildfires, and the earthquake disasters in both Haiti and Nepal. Alex has covered seven Olympics for KSL; 2008 Beijing, 2012 London, 2014 Sochi, 2016 Rio de Janeiro, 2018 PyeongChang, 2020 Tokyo, and 2022 Beijing. Alex is a 12-time Emmy Award winner, including a National Emmy for his reporting during a standoff in Tennessee. He also won an Emmy in 2016 for the best local TV news reporter in the Rocky Mountain Region. In all, Alex has won more than 50 awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Utah Broadcasters Association. Before coming to Utah, Alex covered the September 11th terrorist attacks, training for the first wave of soldiers from the 101st Airborne who would be sent to Afghanistan, and Country Music star Johnny Cash’s funeral. Prior to KSL, Alex reported for WTVF in Nashville, TN; WRCB in Chattanooga, TN; KPVI in Pocatello/Idaho Falls, Idaho; News 55 in Twin Falls, Idaho; and Cable 6 TV in Middletown, New York. Alex is from Rock Hill, New York. He graduated with an Associate’s Degree in Communications from Orange County (NY) Community College and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Production from the State University of New York at New Paltz. Alex is an Eagle Scout, played college baseball, and was a volunteer firefighter/rescue SCUBA diver for the Rock Hill Fire Department He enjoys visiting National and State Parks, exploring the remote areas of Utah, and playing baseball for the Utah Rockies in the Utah Mens Adult Baseball League.