I heard on the news the other day that we are now 23 months into the COVID pandemic. It’s been a long road for all of us, but hearing in those terms…23 months…is just crazy. Not only have we been dealing with COVID itself, but the rippling effects across society and the economy make things harder. Supplies are limited, sporadically for some of us, more often for others. My local Giant is limiting chicken purchases to only 3 packages per transaction. It’s nearly impossible to find wet cat food without visiting multiple stores, both brick & mortar and online. A trip to fill your car with gas and groceries costs more than many of us can ever remember. No matter what your finances look like, I think we are all feeling the impact. While I don’t have all the solutions, I can offer at least 2 tips when it comes to shopping for meat:
- Buy Local – Now, it is no secret that I am all about farm-to-table for MANY reasons. It’s important to me to know how the food that I’m feeding my family is raised. I like knowing who raised our food. I also like knowing that I’m supporting my neighbors and my local economy by keeping money here. And one of the best things lately is the fact that there are no shortages (at least currently) and no purchase limits. My freezer is stocked with beef, I got a chicken delivery (yes, straight from the farm to my porch) last week and I’m ordering pork today for pick up this weekend. Most times, you don’t have to buy in bulk from local farms. You can purchase by the cut, so you don’t have to shell out a large sum of money at once. If you do buy in bulk, you certainly get a cost break, but you also get to order your meat butchered to your specifications. If you are somewhat local to me in the Lehigh Valley or Western NJ, check out the following places where we get our meats:
- Beef – Moon Phase Ranch, Stroudsburg, PA (moonphaseranch.com)
- Chicken – Chartier Farms, Bath, PA (chartierfarms.com)
- Pork – Country View Meats, Danielsville, PA (countryviewmeats.com)
- Buy big, primal cuts – I know that you have seen them…the huge slabs of beef and pork in the meat coolers at your grocery store or warehouse club. They seem big and sometimes expensive. But when you think about the amount of meat that you are getting and break it down by cost per meal, it really can be cost effective. There are a gazillion videos on the internet that show you how to break down primal cuts. For me, the easiest is a boneless pork loin. I bought one a few weeks ago at Giant. It was on sale, weighing 12 lbs for about $24. Once I got it home, I cut the loin into 6 equal pieces; 3 of which became boneless pork loin chops and the other 3 were left as roasts. That’s less than $4 worth of meat per meal. Obviously, this is more expensive with beef, but keep an eye out for huge markdowns and buy your big cuts then.
Hopefully, there will be an end in sight for increased food costs and decreased selection, but I remind myself that we are lucky. There are millions of folks around the world that would love to have the food “inconveniences” that we are currently experiencing. Let’s continue to be thankful for all that we have. And let’s also continue to shop local, shop smart and eat well. Until next time…
