About Haun's
About Haun's Meat & Sausage
Jerry and Dee Haun started Haun’s Meat and Sausage in 1996 in the Walla Walla Valley. With over 34 years of experience in the meat business, Jerry believes in delivering the best quality product for maximum value. Along with his wife Dee, they grew up in the Walla Walla area and have deep roots in the community.
When the opportunity came to open up their own shop, Walla Walla seemed like the perfect community to do it in. In an area full of hardworking people, the Haun’s knew people would appreciate their commitment to wholesome product for a fair price.
While food fads come and go, Haun’s have been around for three generations serving the community they love. Whenever Jerry and Dee travel around the country visiting with other meat processors, they talk up the area they call home. They talk about the Valley’s commitment to agriculture and good food whether it be our famous sweet onions, fine wines, produce, grains and livestock that dot the landscape. Just the name Walla Walla makes their ears perk up!
And with so much experience in the meat industry, Jerry is often called to assist in matters of both local and national importance. He was on a panel as a subject matter expert before the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety Inspection Service in Washington D.C. about the the defense of our food supply chain along with only 11 other processors from around the United States. He was interviewed by Tri-Cities, Washington area TV stations when the BSE crisis broke out as well as being featured in Agri-Times Northwest, Washington Ag News and local and regional newspapers on various meat related issues. He was featured in Meat and Poultry magazine as an expert in farm slaughtering in the Northwest.
He was the executive secretary of the Northwest Meat Processors Association and is a former president and board member of the NWMPA and a former board member for the American Association of Meat Processors. He has also been a cured meat judge in multiple state competitions and a national food judge assistant at the American Cured Meat Championships. He is also an associate member of the Washington Cattleman’s Association. The Haun’s also support local FFA and 4H chapters in their efforts to educate America’s youth about agriculture in the 21st century.
History
Haun’s Meat and Sausage started in Walla Walla in 1996 but its roots run much deeper. Jerry Haun, the owner of Haun’s is actually a third generation meat processor.
After World War II, his maternal grandfather Denny Blackstone owned Blackstone Lockers in the Sunnyside area of Milton-Freewater, Oregon. After the smokehouse caught fire and burned the building down, Blackstone and Francis Hobson built the Western Meats plant on West Ballou Road in Milton-Freewater. Haun’s father Gordon Haun worked there from 1956 to 1964; and then moved his family to the Battle Ground, Washington area and purchased his own meat shop.
Haun joined his father in the business in 1977 and worked there until 1994. At that time, he moved to the Walla Walla Valley and, in 1996, started Haun’s Meat and Sausage at its current Stateline Road location.
What started as a meat shop in a modified former machine shop with an attached freezer has grown several times over. He added a second cooler as well as a dedicated room for smoked meats processing. He has also added additional freezer space and storage as well as a retail office on location in 2011.
With 34 years of experience in the meat business, Haun gives back to the community and his industry. They are a supporter of the Milton-Freewater Junior Show, local 4H and FFA groups, as well as serving on the board of various industry associations. He’s a former board member for the American Association of Meat Processors and current executive secretary and former president and board member of the Northwest Meat Processors Association.
Awards
Haun’s Meat and Sausage regularly puts their products up to the test against the best in the industry. We have won over 50 previous awards at various competitions including more than a dozen grand champions in competitions such as:
American Cured Meat Championship (National)
Northwest Cured Meat Championship (Regional)
Montana Meat Championship (Regional)