Greg Bloom
Owner
Barber's Foods
Denver, CO USA
“Keep your hands to the plow, keep your head down, and just bulldoze through it.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationGreg Bloom
Milestones
My road in life has been direct.
I grew up on a farm and also participated in the 4-H youth development program, learning about animals, crops, and agriculture.
As I got older, I wanted a change from farming and found one through the Rotary Club—I lived in Japan for a year where I went to a military school as an exchange student.
When I came back to the U.S., I went to the University of Southern California for East Asian studies and business marketing—I also went back to Japan to further learn the language and culture.
After college, I intended to work in international business going back and forth between Los Angeles and Tokyo but my wife and I decided to move back to Colorado where it was more affordable instead.
I went to the Chamber of Commerce in Denver, Colorado, for a list of all local companies with a Japanese affiliation and ultimately found a job as a sales rep for a Japanese-owned food processor.
Since then, I’ve built my career in the food industry and have worked for six different USDA meat plants.
I’m currently the CEO of Barber’s Foods, a meat distributor in Denver.
Additionally, I’ve made it my mission to dispel the mistrust about farming and ranching and reconnect people to their food—I write about this and also speak about it on a podcast and radio program.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Owner
I lead a meat distribution company and have also made it my mission to reconnect people to their food.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Food
Business
Working with Others
Day to Day
I get to spend time traveling the world going to meat conferences and selling meat. When I'm not traveling, I go into the office to check in with my team and attend meetings about our tasks for the week. I also meet up with customers—chefs, food banks, and buyers—and work with them to answer any questions they have about where the meat comes from, what the farms are like, how it's processed, etc. I also spend time on content creation to help educate people and reconnect them to their food.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for high school students
There are so many career opportunities in agriculture but many people don't know about them because they grew up in big cities or are going to inner city schools. I encourage you to check out the land-grant university in your state instead. These schools have a wide variety of programs in food production, agriculture, plants, and animals. And if a four-year university isn't for you, find the community colleges that are connected to these schools and try out classes there.
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Myself:
"I'm not enjoying it here. I feel isolated. Maybe this industry isn't for me."
