The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will close its cannery in Murray, and move its operations to its newer cannery in Weber County.
Church officials announced Monday it would consolidate operations of the Murray Cannery, at 4373 S. Main, with those of its cannery in Harrisville, north of Ogden, starting in January. Employees at the Murray facility will be reassigned to similar positions in other church operations.
The church also operates canneries in Garden City, Idaho; Houston; and at Welfare Square in Salt Lake City. The canneries package and bottle food grown on church-owned farms. The packaged food is distributed through bishops’ storehouses and humanitarian deliveries to food banks nationwide.
The closure of the Murray Cannery is “in response to changing processing demands,” church officials said in a news release. The Harrisville Cannery, which was dedicated in May 2017, has newer equipment and larger processing capacity.
The closure is not related to the effects of COVID-19, the release said.
“Cannery operations continue to be an integral part of the church’s strategy to support food security initiatives in our communities,” said Guillermo Antivilo, director of the production and distribution division of the church’s Welfare and Self-Reliance Services Department.
