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Meat CSA

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cortguitarman
cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
edited March 2012 in EggHead Forum
For those that don't know what a csa is, it is community sustained agriculture. Local grown organic produce that is delivered weakly to a pickup location. My wife and I joined one for produce last year and have joined again this year. The produce and variety is awesome.

With that being said, are any of you members of a meat csa? There is one locally that we are considering joining. Wondering if it is worth the cost. The meat seems a little pricey compared to supermarket meat. In comparison, the produce is much cheaper than the supermarket.
Mark Annville, PA
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  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
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    Bueler, bueler...
    Mark Annville, PA
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  • MaskedMarvel
    MaskedMarvel Posts: 3,144
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    Sorry - I can't stop thinking about Meat CSI.  This is usually what I do when I eat Indian...
    Large BGE and Medium BGE
    36" Blackstone - Greensboro!


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  • chill243
    chill243 Posts: 131
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    ???
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  • Village Idiot
    Village Idiot Posts: 6,959
    edited March 2012
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    We have quite a few "Farmer's Markets" around town that set up their tents on weekends.  Mostly local farmers, mostly organic.  There are meat and fish people there too.  Like your CSA, the meat seems to be more expensive than the grocery store, and the produce about the same.

    (CSA meant something different in 1861, and is still considered a current term in much of the South).
    __________________________________________

    Dripping Springs, Texas.
    Just west of Austintatious


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  • travisstrick
    travisstrick Posts: 5,002
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    I found this LINK a few years ago after reading some stuff. It may help.
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
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  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
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    Oh, so true. In the north most folks still don't think community sustained agriculture when they hear csa either.

    I was looking to see if anyone thought there was a taste difference in the meat. I also thought the variety would be cool. I can sign up for a share of chicken, beef, lamb, and pork. I wouldn't have control over the cuts of meat each week. They vary them weekly. That isn't a major concern with the egg, though.
    Mark Annville, PA
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  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
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    Thanks, Travis.
    Mark Annville, PA
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  • Hillbilly-Hightech
    Hillbilly-Hightech Posts: 966
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    @cortguitarman - well, I don't know much about meat CSA, but we've been going to the local farmer's market, and there was a vendor who was selling free range, grass fed, anti-biotic free meats:  beef, pork, chicken. 

    I was wanting to get some to try, but when my GF looked @ the price (~$14 for a pack of ground beef), she just walked away... so when I caught back up to her & tried to explain to her the health benefits, she said that she wasn't gonna pay that much for meat.

    So, I guess I don't really know if it was any "better" or "healthier" or what have you... though, now that the "pink slime" topic has hit the news, perhaps I can talk her into it now???? :D
    Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup... Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. - Bruce Lee
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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
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    I wonder how a meat CSA would work? For vegetables and fruits, there are periodic excesses. If chicken, or ducks or rabbits were offered, I suppose there could be a pretty steady supply. But I thought pork was mostly available in late fall. Would the CSA share suddenly be enough to fill a freezer?

    HH, see if the vendor sells direct. I had a friend with a truck farm, and asked him why he didn't have a stall at the local farmers' market. He said the stall rents were too high. There is an organic farm about 25 miles from me. If I buy ground beef at the farm, it costs $6.50. Its $10 at a large nearby market, and $11 at a health food store. They have joined a co-op that opened last year, and apparently will deliver to the co-op location for the same price as going to the farm.
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  • centex99
    centex99 Posts: 231
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    $6.50 to $14 for a lb of ground beef... can't be that much better for me or taste that much better!
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  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
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    There are 2 seasons for the csa. The catch with a csa is that it is much like buying stock. Good crop/enough animals = more food. Bad crop = less food. We love the produce. Just not sure about the meat.
    Mark Annville, PA
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  • cortguitarman
    cortguitarman Posts: 2,061
    edited March 2012
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    Here is the link for the local csa in my area. They have delivery sites in central PA, and deliver to farmers markets in D.C.

    www.northmountainpastures.com
    Mark Annville, PA
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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
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    $6.50 to $14 for a lb of ground beef... can't be that much better for me or taste that much better!
    The beef from the farm I go to has such a remarkable flavor that there are times it is almost like eating a different species.

    Same with a local farm that raises lamb. I forget what cut I bought from them, but i found a nice recipe. My wife said it was one of the best things I had ever made. Found the same cut at a local big box at about 40% the price of the local organic. Made the same dish a week later. My wife asked what it was. I told her it was the same thing I made the past week. She said "No, its not." I had to go back to the local guy and complain. "Your lamb has ruined store bought for us." He just had a big grin, and thumbs up.


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