For Kent’s Market, being able to give back to its communities adds meaning to everything the business does.
“We stock the shelves and sell groceries just to support giving back to the community,” said Kati Calhoun, VP of marketing for the grocer, which operates four stores in Utah – in Brigham City, Plain City, Roy and Tremonton.
Kent’s CEO Jon Fawson is “a huge supporter of everything that we do, in helping us give back,” said Calhoun, noting his role in helping form its Kent’s Cares foundation, through which “we give back to everybody that we possibly can.”
In terms of giving, Kent’s Market is best known for its “Holiday Meals for the Military” drive held each spring and fall in support of Operation Homefront. The spring event, the larger of the two, is held in May, which is National Military Appreciation Month; the fall event takes place on Veteran’s Day (Nov. 11) each year.
Initially, Operation Homefront had reached out to Associated Food Stores, the grocery co-op in Salt Lake City, saying it would like to do a “small event” with a grocery store near Hill Air Force Base. The Kent’s Market in Roy is about a mile from the base, and AFS reached out to Fawson, who agreed to try it. At that event, 50 military families received a bag of groceries and a Kent’s gift card.
Three-and-a-half years later, the Kent’s event is the largest of its kind in the nation. This May, 28 vendors participated, and 430 military families went home with 12 bags of groceries, 10 cases of beverages (Swire Coca-Cola is a major supporter), a case of Chobani yogurt (whose team members battle over the privilege to come to the event, Calhoun said) and a Kent’s gift card.
At the request of the families, the $600 worth of groceries in May included more fresh food. They received a bag of oranges, and one 10-pound bag each of onions, potatoes and apples. The apples were trucked down from Washington State by CMI Orchards. The semi-truck driver made the 20-hour journey to present the fresh apples to the families and personally thank them.
As the families drive through the Kent’s parking lot to pick up the goods, they receive repeated thanks for their family’s sacrifices in serving their country, which may be one of the most important aspects of the event, according to Calhoun, who is married to an airman who was deployed several times and is now in the reserves.
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Volunteers also prepare a meal to serve them.
“So many people say this event changed my life, taught them about giving back and understanding the importance of it,” she said. “I think that’s so moving.”
With a few years under their belt, Kent’s continues to fine-tune the events to make sure the families are getting items that benefit them most. For instance, Kent’s is working with vendors on “meal kits” – bags that contain all the ingredients needed for perhaps a pasta dinner or a special breakfast.
Calhoun, who shared in August about Kent’s support of the military on a podcast called “Relentlessly Resilient,” said that after Associated Food Stores’ annual show this year, several vendors “wanted to donate leftovers from their booth to us, which we were so grateful for.” Anything Kent’s was not able to use was donated to military food pantries.
For the past three years, Kent’s has worked with two other AFS member stores – Pioneer Market and Soelbergs – to hold a food drive to benefit military families. The grocers raise enough food to fill a semi-truck with goods that are then donated to all five Utah military food pantries, with enough food for Thanksgiving and Christmas, said Calhoun, who was Operation Homefront’s national Volunteer of the Year in 2023.
“It’s been a huge success,” she said. “Military food pantries are not supplied by [organizations] like the Utah Food Bank, so we took the initiative to say, ‘There’s a lot of other grocers that stock the food banks; why don’t we stock these other food pantries because there’s about 30,000 military members in the Salt Lake/Ogden area that need it?’”
The sad reality is that military families do at times suffer from food insecurity. Spouses of those on active duty who may want or need to work can’t always find an employer willing to hire someone who is likely going to be moving again at some point, or they may have small children at home and can’t afford day care.
In August 2023 at the Kent’s Market in Plain City, Holiday Meals for Military yielded 10 bags of groceries, 10 cases of beverages and a $50 Kent’s gift card.
In December 2023, Kent’s Market partnered with Operation Homefront to provide a “dream baby shower” for 75 expectant military moms affiliated with Hill Air Force Base, Utah National Guard or Army Reserves. The mothers received gifts totaling $600.
“Welcoming a new baby to the family can be difficult for military parents-to-be who often live far from their extended families and support systems – and even more so when finances are tight,” Operation Homefront said.
Kent’s Cares, in many ways
Through Kent’s Cares, the grocer supports other causes as well. This past Christmas, Fawson and Calhoun, along with representatives from AFS and Swire Coca-Cola, went to a Shriners hospital and gave out giant Coca-Cola bears to the children and made a monetary donation to the hospital, which never turns anyone away regardless of their ability to pay.
Kent’s soon will participate in another event with Shriners, along with Spirit Halloween, to help kids in wheelchairs “make their dream costume come true,” Calhoun said. Kent’s also owns an Ace Hardware, so Kent’s will take a trailer of tools to assist in making the costumes work around the wheelchairs.
“That’s the good that we get to do,” she said. “It’s such a rewarding aspect of our business.”
Kent’s Cares also supports Brigham City Fine Arts Center, which specializes in helping low-income children participate in arts projects and summer camps, Calhoun said.
At the store level, Kent’s Cares shows up in the form of Caroline’s Carts, which are specially designed carts for kids with disabilities that affect their mobility. Fawson has a niece, Willow, who requires assistance, and many others do, too, they realized.
“We noticed we have a lot of special needs children come into our stores, so we brought in Caroline’s Carts to be able to give back and help those children, and for those parents to be able to come to the grocery store and have that grocery experience,” Calhoun said.
The carts are available in all four Kent’s Markets, and a number of other AFS members are starting to bring them in as well, realizing the importance of “giving back and helping and finding those ways to accommodate our customers,” she said.
“Kent’s motto is ‘Memories begin at Kent’s,’ and our mission statement is ‘We delight and build our community.’ It’s not just about selling groceries. Especially when you’re a small-town grocery store, you make memories and are building that sense of community. Yes, you can shop online now, but not everybody wants to shop online. I like to go to the store to interact with people, right? So, it’s bringing those people together within our community.”
Because of its efforts to serve its communities’ needs, Kent’s Market received the Utah Food Industry Association’s Impact Award in 2023, noted Dave Davis, president and CEO of UFIA.
“Kent’s Market has really made an outreach to and partnered with our military community, and they have done some … great work,” he said. “It’s been a real passion for them.”
Calhoun encourages every grocer to find causes they’re passionate about.
“There are so many worthy causes out there, and if every grocer chose a different cause, so many organizations could be helped,” she said.
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