So excited to participate in my first "pork share"! I found this opportunity through the local chapter of Slow Food USA. The basic concept is that a group of people come together to buy a whole pig direct from a farm, then it's arranged for the pig to be butchered, and each person who buys a share gets a bunch of fresh pork direct from the farm.
We bought our pig from Fogline Farm, a farm near Santa Cruz that prides itself on its sustainability. They sell veggies through a CSA, and eggs, chickens, hogs and jams direct to consumers and through farmers' markets (around Santa Cruz / Monterey). I've had a chance to visit the farm and chat w/ the farmers - Johnny, Caleb, Jeff . It's inspiring to see these young, passionate guys dedicate their work lives to growing such good, delicious, healthy food.
I purchased 12 lbs of pork for $100 - the shares I got consisted mostly of pork chops and pork belly, with a couple lbs of stew meat and a large shank. Given the quality and cuts of the meat, my instinct is that it's a pretty decent price for local, pastured pork. And regardless of the price, it feels really great to support a local, small-scale, sustainable farm. Given the lack of good options near me to purchase local, pastured pork, I might make this a regular thing.
Hi Anthony,
ReplyDeleteLiz Snyder mentioned that you do consulting for nonprofits, and I wanted to reach out to find out more about that. Could you email me at codyk@veggielution.org so we could set up a time to talk by phone or in person?
Also, my girlfriend and I have been interested for a while now in buying part of a pig, and a few of our friends who did it in the past (including Amie, the Veggielution ED) is probably going to buy one in the future. We're also part of a coalescing buyers club, which may be a channel for that. So this is a helpful post!
Take care, and I look forward to hearing from you. I'll try you on Facebook if I don't hear from you soon, in case you don't get notifications from this blog.
Thanks,
Cody