LAS VEGAS — A common topic that shaped a multitude of IBIEducate sessions is sustainability, and, more specifically, initiatives driving the global movement toward a more resilient food chain.
Vertically integrated partnerships are a catalyst for the movement’s growth, and one such example is Kansas City, KS-based Farm to Market Bread Co. and Farmer Direct Foods, which partnered in 2022 to bring more locally sourced and sustainable products to the Kansas City community.
At IBIE 2025, held Sept. 13-17 in Las Vegas, Tim Webster, CEO of Farmer Direct Foods, and John Friend, CEO of Farm to Market, centered their panel discussion on intentional ingredient sourcing, a major component of their partnership.
“That’s a big part of why we do this, because we’ve chosen the seed varieties that we use to create superior baking attributes, and then doing it so that it’s consistent back-to-back is what we stand for,” Webster said.
Webster and Friend shared how sustainability and consistency start at the very top, from seed selection to regenerative agriculture to stone-ground milling, all of which created the ideal flour for Farm to Market’s wholesale baking.
“Over the years, we’ve used dozens of different flours, and day in, day out, the flour would react differently and absorb water differently,” Friend said. “We couldn’t always put our finger on why our quality was all over the place, but eventually, we started using Farmer Direct Foods, and we instantly saw consistency in our product. We weren’t having to make changes to our formulas on the fly.”
Farmer Direct Foods also established a network of growers committed to improving soil health and reducing carbon emissions. Greg Peterson — a member of the network who, along with his brothers, farms wheat in Assaria, KS — was also part of the panel.
“That’s what every farmer wants to strive for: taking care of the land, the soil, creating a product that is not only a good product food-wise, but that also has been produced in the right ways,” Peterson said. “That’s important to us, and when we haul to Farmer Direct, we know where our wheat is going.”
