Deseret Bakery

Introduction / Overview: Baking for the Community—The Heart of Welfare Square

When Utah residents hear the name Deseret Bakery, it’s important to understand that this is a bakery with a deeply significant, non-commercial purpose. Located in Salt Lake City, the Deseret Bakery is a vital component of Welfare Square, a large complex owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to provide material assistance to individuals and families in need. Unlike typical retail bakeries, the Deseret Bakery does not sell its products to the public.

Instead, this facility is a humanitarian hub. Its mission is centered entirely on service, where dedicated volunteers and employees work together to produce thousands of loaves of fresh bread and rolls each week. This baked sustenance is then distributed through the Church's Welfare System, primarily via the Bishop's Storehouses, to individuals and families receiving assistance across the region. The bakery's long history dates back decades, operating as a key part of the Church’s efforts to help people "help themselves" and foster self-reliance, a tradition that began during the Great Depression era.

The entire operation, including the mixing, baking, slicing, and bagging of approximately 4,000 loaves weekly, is driven by the spirit of volunteerism. As one customer review succinctly put it, it is a "Wonderful place to serve." For the local Utah community, the Deseret Bakery represents a large-scale, consistent source of quality food production that directly benefits the poor and needy, using the region's resources (like wheat from Church farms and silos located right on Welfare Square) to create essential provisions.

Location and Accessibility: The Welfare Square Campus

The Deseret Bakery is situated within the extensive Welfare Square complex, located in the 84104 zip code of Salt Lake City. While a precise street number for the bakery itself may not be used for public retail, the complex is generally situated at approximately 751 West 700 South, a prominent area on the west side of downtown SLC. This central location ensures the bakery’s essential products are easily dispatched for distribution across Utah and beyond.

Importantly, Welfare Square is a well-maintained and accessible facility, which is critical for its overall humanitarian mission and for visitors who come for tours or service. The public accessibility features on the campus, where the bakery is housed, include:

• Wheelchair Accessible Entrance: The Welfare Square complex, which includes the bakery, ensures that individuals with mobility challenges can easily access the grounds and facilities where applicable, supporting both volunteers and recipients.
• Wheelchair Accessible Parking Lot: Provides necessary accommodations for all visitors and personnel on the campus.

For individuals in Utah who wish to see the bakery in action and learn more about the Church's welfare program, Welfare Square offers guided tours. These tours often include a look at the food production facilities in operation, such as the bakery, cannery, and dairy plant, giving locals a unique glimpse into this massive service-oriented food production network.

Services Offered (Non-Retail)

The services provided by Deseret Bakery are entirely devoted to its humanitarian mission within the LDS Church Welfare System, rather than traditional commercial retail:

• Bread and Roll Production: Mass-scale baking of bread and rolls (approximately 4,000 loaves weekly) for distribution.
• Food Processing: Utilizing raw materials, such as wheat stored in Welfare Square’s grain silo, to produce finished baked goods.
• Volunteer Opportunities: Providing daily opportunities for community members to volunteer their time in the production process, contributing to a large-scale service effort.
• Supply Chain Integration: Providing fresh baked goods to the Bishop's Storehouse, a market-style grocery within Welfare Square, where families receiving Church assistance can pick up food orders.

Features / Highlights (Humanitarian Focus)

The highlights of Deseret Bakery are tied directly to its noble, service-oriented function and impressive operational scale:

• A Pillar of Welfare Square: It stands alongside a grain silo, a milk processing plant, a cannery, and a Deseret Industries thrift store as one of the seven key entities within the essential Welfare Square campus.
• Volunteer-Driven Production: The vast majority of the work, including mixing and bagging the thousands of loaves, is performed by volunteers, embodying the community spirit of service that the region is known for.
• Integration with the Food Chain: The bakery is a true "farm to table" operation; it uses wheat from Church farms, which is stored in Welfare Square's 178-foot silo and milled for baking, ensuring a high-quality, traceable product.
• Consistent Supply for the Needy: The bakery provides a reliable, ongoing supply of freshly baked, wholesome bread, a fundamental necessity, directly to those in need across Utah and other distribution points.
• High Standards: Though non-commercial, the products are made to ensure good quality, maintaining a high standard comparable to commercial goods.

Contact Information

For individuals interested in learning more about the operation, taking a tour of Welfare Square, or inquiring about service opportunities, the contact information for the bakery, often provided as the specific number for the facility, is:

• Associated Facility Address (Welfare Square): 751 W 700 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84104, USA (Note: This is the complex address, not a retail storefront).
• Phone (Deseret Bakery Line): (801) 240-7385
• Mobile Phone: +1 801-240-7385
• Welfare Square Tour Information: Guided tours are typically available on weekdays, allowing the public to see the bakery and other facilities in operation.

What is Worth Choosing Deseret Bakery (as a community asset)

For the Utah community, choosing to engage with the Deseret Bakery means contributing to a deeply rooted system of humanitarian aid. While you cannot buy a loaf for yourself, what is worth choosing is the opportunity for service and the knowledge that a local facility is churning out thousands of high-quality loaves weekly for those who need them most. The single customer review, "Wonderful place to serve," perfectly encapsulates the bakery's true value: it is a beacon of community service, not commerce.

The bakery stands as a testament to the region’s commitment to self-reliance and charity. Its integration into Welfare Square, complete with grain silos and a dairy, shows a meticulous, sustained effort to provide essential goods. For Utahns seeking a meaningful, hands-on volunteer experience in food production, or for those simply wishing to support and understand the massive charitable infrastructure in their city, Deseret Bakery offers a powerful, tangible connection to a vital, decades-old humanitarian endeavor.

Deseret Bakery

Salt Lake City, UT 84104, USA