Wegmans' butcher shops stand out — in fact, the Rochester, N.Y.-based grocery chain has one of the best meat departments in the country. But where does the meat come from? With over 100 stores in 10 states, the family-owned grocer prides itself on working with dozens of local farms in the areas near its grocery stores, which is why there's no single distributor who produces all of Wegmans' beef.

Wegmans partners with 125 cattle farmers in Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. For example, Senterfitt Farms provides meat to Virginia stores while the McMillen Brothers cattle ranch in central Pennsylvania sends beef to Keystone State outposts (it's not known exactly which locations they ship to, though, so a few could be across state lines as well). However, having local farmers near the stores reduces travel time, which means the meat is fresher (this is the same reason why Wegmans' produce is so fresh).

Although Wegmans works with a number of family farms, once the meat leaves those ranches, it's still packed by big-name companies. Most Wegmans-brand beef arrives at the store via meatpacking facilities run by Cargill, one of the largest meatpackers in the country, according to packages checked in a New Jersey location. These plants are still fairly local to the stores (in the Hanover, New Jersey location, most beef items were packed in Hazleton or Wyalusing, Pennsylvania), though certain beef products were packed as far away as Kansas.

A closer look at some of Wegmans' beef suppliers

Exterior of a Wegmans supermarket at dusk with trees and a brick wall facade

PJ McDonnell/Shutterstock

Wegmans' commitment to partnering with various local farmers is certainly refreshing. In the chain's home state, it works with around 80 regional suppliers. One of those is Conquest Farms, located in Cato, New York. The farm can hold a whopping 1,400 cows, and when it's time to make the farm-to-shelf trek, the nearest Wegmans is only about 20 miles away.

About 90 miles southwest of Washington, D.C. sits Senterfitt Farms, a cattle rancher in rural Virginia, which has supplied Wegmans since 2011. The farm is large, but family-owned, and sprawls over 1,000 acres. It's about 40 miles to the nearest Wegmans, and even they are big on sourcing locally themselves. "On our farm, everything from feed to cattle comes from within 15 miles," owner Clay Jackson told Wegmans.

In 2015, the grocer recruited a new mid-Atlantic cattle rancher. That's family-run Steffen Farms in Detour, Maryland, which is under 15 miles to the nearest Wegmans supermarket. The supermarket chain's ribeye steaks, sirloin steaks, and brisket patties — all Angus beef — come from Steffen. 

The beloved grocery chain continues to slowly expand, too; one of the untold truths of Wegmans is that it only opens two or three stores each year. It's opening its first location in metro Charlotte, North Carolina, in October 2026, which is a considerable distance away from its Raleigh store cluster, so it'll be interesting to see what local farm Wegmans chooses to partner with in the region.