New Midwest marketplace for all-natural gourmands

For consumers who want to know where their food is coming from and meet the farmer, there’s a new store, centrally located near downtown that’s easily accessible and served by public transportation. Locally Sourced Meats officially opened for business at Kansas City’s River Market on Dec. 12.

Proprietors Kim and Steve Wells sell an ever-expanding variety of beef, pork, goat, lamb, quail, chicken, duck and buffalo products; select seafood; eggs; corn and wheat ready to be ground for flour; sorghum syrup; suet products; cheeses; all natural beef bones; and beef jerky dog treats. All is produced by eight regional family farms.

“We expect that to climb to between 15 and 20 different farms, and we’re doing our best to stay within 100 miles of Kansas City,” Kim says.

Seafood selections will be the exception. The Wells will stock, as available from small family boats on the Gulf Coast, 15 species of snapper, blue crab, oysters, shrimp, flounder and red drum, and wild-caught salmon from family-owned operations in the North Pacific. It will be sold by the pound and not packaged. The sustainably-sourced fresh fish will be in the store within 14 hours of being caught, Kim says.

Since its opening, Locally Sourced Meats has continued expanding its product line. Nitrite-free bacon is now available, for sale by the pound or slice. A new beef supply will arrive Feb. 10 and rabbit, jams and jellies in mid-February. Duck and goose eggs are coming in March and will be sold individually or by the dozen.

“They’re a little richer with a heavier egg flavor,” Kim says. “They’re often used for baking.”

Though it’s their first retail store, Kim and Steve Wells aren’t new to Kansas Citians. They’ve been providing healthy options to consumers at farmers’ markets in Westport, Brookside and River Market for a dozen years. Until now, they’ve sold their own USDA-inspected, grass-fed, hormone-antibiotic-and-steroid-free, dry-aged Angus beef, humanely raised on their family farm and processed locally.

For four generations, the Wells family has farmed and raised cattle on their 800-acre spread about 80 miles north in King City, Mo. They’ve lasted because they’re willing to research and evolve. The Wells’ steers are “sustainably and organically raised on pastures seeded with a variety of grasses and legumes,” Kim says.

“Our animals never experience the stress of living in confinement or being force-fed dry grains, and we use humane slaughtering practices,” she says.

Well Family Farms beef is dry-aged for 20 days. It involves hanging the carcass to allow fluids to drain from the meat and naturally occurring enzymes to break down the muscle tissue. That makes the meat tenderer, easier to digest and far more flavorful, Kim says.

The Wells began laying the groundwork for selling directly to consumers about 15 years ago, eventually in a permanent location where they could offer an assortment of locally sourced meat, poultry, seafood, dairy items and other products.

“We were looking for ways to make more money for all the hard work we were doing;” Kim says. “We got into direct sales when the kids were through high school. We knew from the beginning that Kansas City would be the target area because of the population density.”

The Wells reached out to family farms and small-scale processors in the region. The result: Locally Sourced Meats provides a more profitable option than giant corporate feedlot operations for small farmers growing all-natural foods and humanely-raised stock. And it makes their products more accessible to consumers.

“It cuts down the environmental footprint, and everybody makes a little more for their work on the farm,” Kim says.

The bi-state Kansas City area is a prime location for such an enterprise. Kansas and Missouri are in the nation’s top 10 beef producing states, according to 2015 statistics.

This winter, Locally Sourced Meats is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A grand opening and extended hours are planned for the spring.

Locally Sourced Meats

419 Main Street

Kansas City, Mo., 816-321-2514

locallysourcedmeats.net

wellsfamilyfarms.com

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