Paul Benson had talked about the possibility of opening Benson and Turner Foods with Doyle Turner for almost eight years. The best friends, living on the White Earth Reservation in northwestern Minnesota, had hoped to improve the availability of local meat to their rural community, make processing more accessible to small producers in the area and ultimately give the local economy a boost.

When they talked, they’d discuss their frustrations about living in a food desert where affordable and high-quality food was hard to find, about the limited opportunities that existed for small agriculture producers and their desire to create change that would shape a brighter future for their kids and their communities.

Years after dreaming up a meat processing operation that would include a retail component, Benson applied for and received a $900,000 Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program grant through the USDA, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, that would move the idea from a concept to a budding reality.

What he didn’t count on was bringing the project to fruition without the friend who believed in it as much as he did.

“We just decided, ‘Ok. Let’s do something then, instead of complaining all the time,’” said Benson. “We made a commitment that we would do everything we could to bring this to light.” 

 Understanding the Market

The commitment the friends made to bringing the project to light led Benson down a path that included becoming more involved in the farmer’s union on a local and national level, performing a feasibility study with grant funding from the tribal council and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and landing jobs at a high-end grocer as a retail butcher as well as handling meat prep work at a restaurant in a casino.

That research introduced Benson, a producer himself who had never bought retail meat in his life, to the needs of a commercial kitchen and a retail meat counter. Those establishments weren’t utilizing local meat because it wasn’t being processed or boxed in cuts that they could use. 

“Nobody puts locally-grown pork or beef in a boxed form,” said Benson. “Until someone puts it into a boxed form, they can’t use it.”

Those experiences only reaffirmed the vision Benson and Turner had, and the two were close to securing financing through the Minnesota Community Development Corporation when the pandemic hit. The financing fell through. Turner contracted COVID and did not survive. And Benson was at a loss.

“Everything went upside down. I lost my business partner and my best friend,” said Benson. “That was rough. Very, very rough.”

With the blessing of Turner’s family to continue with the project, Benson and his sister wrote the USDA grant application and continued sourcing other grant opportunities. They received invaluable support from the Agricultural Utilization Research Institute and the Intertribal Agriculture Council. And then the USDA grant came in. They were the only ones in Minnesota to receive it.

“It was just amazing,” said Benson. “All of a sudden, this all became possible.”

Construction is already underway and they’re hoping to open their doors this summer. As a USDA slaughter and processing facility, Benson and Turner Foods will source all their cattle locally, offer custom slaughter services, provide boxed beef and pork or individual packaging, and stock a full assorted meat case for retail sale to the community. All of that will also create local jobs.

The Benson and Turner Foods operation will bring a variety of services to an area that previously had little to no options.  It will serve tribal food distribution and meals programs, retail grocers, and provide local producers with opportunities to sell directly to consumers. In addition, the facility has space for a commercial kitchen and classrooms, which will be available to the community for vocational training.

“It’s going to create opportunity and stability for the small producer. It’ll be sustainable,” said Benson. “I can source so much beef within 20 miles of my facility I wouldn’t even be able to process all of it. The producers are embracing this. It’s a start in the right direction.”

And he’s sure his best friend would approve.

“He would be ecstatic,” said Benson. “We’re literally starting a multimillion dollar business with a quarter in our pocket. It’s doable but it takes perseverance and work. It’s all about the community infrastructure that’s needed.”

The American Rescue Plan Act was a stimulus package passed by the 117th U.S. Congress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was signed into law in March of 2021 by the Biden-Harris administration to aid in the country’s economic recovery.