Harris Farms, a name synonymous with Cheviot, was this year recognised in the Hurunui District Council’s celebration of community at its annual Community Service Awards.

It was awarded the Special Mayoral Business Award for its decades of hard work and achievement in the district.

It is a business that has flourished since the Harris family opened its first butchers show in Cheviot in 1956. Today it has a large farm at Domett and a processing factory, and alongside a now modern butchery in Cheviot’s main thoroughfare, it has a Bakery & Cafe.

Since it opened the doors of the first butchery in 1956, the family run business has supported its district in many ways. Backing volunteer organisations, community events, schools, sports clubs, emergency services and embraced countless other initiatives..

Harris Farms has also been a keen supporting business for the Mayors Taskforce for Jobs programme, showing a willingness to engage and provide leadership for young people seeking employment.

The generosity displayed by what started off as a local butchery, has enabled volunteers to do more, reach further and make a greater impact.

Every volunteer, every community project, and every family who has been supported, strengthened and gained benefit, is part of a legacy Harris Farms has created.

It is 70 years since Clare and Dennis Harris first bought the local butcher shop. 

In the intervening years since Harris Farms was established, it has grown to include a sheep and beef farm, a factory, and now has a strong presence in supermarkets around the country.

The expanded butchery, bakery and cafe gives everyone the chance to experience quality local meats and welcoming hospitality.

The butchery section is always full of the freshest cuts thanks to the farm and factory being mere minutes down the road.

Harris Farms has always been driven by providing good-quality local meat and food to their customers, and with the expansion of their butcher shop to include the café, the vision is becoming a reality.

The Harris Farms production plant, set on 1000ha, now oversees the entire production process, from pasture to plate. This means the quality standards the business was built on can be consistently maintained every step of the way, from best farming practices, to supporting and training their 50+ staff members.

The business now supplies Harris Farms’ range – including mince, chops, smallgoods and prime cuts – to butchers, supermarkets, restaurants, cafés and hotels throughout the South Island. Consumers can find Harris Farms products at many supermarkets and at the iconic butcher’s shop in Cheviot where it all began.

- Courtesy of the Hurunui District Council and Harris Farms website