493931 Wed Feb 27 14:21:38 -0800 2008 14 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 3441163 For those of us trying to minimize or eliminate industrial meat consumption (read Omnivore's Dilemma anyone?), Marin Sun Farms (grass-fed, pastured, local, sustainable meat) is now offering a Meat CSA club - 1x a month frozen cuts and ground meats with four tiers of poundage available. Pickup either in Point Reyes or their distributor in San Francisco: http://www.marinsunfarms.com/meatclub.html I've just signed up and will report back after my first shipment next month, but I am very excited about this development as the only other local meat CSA sponsored by local Slow Food club is full. Wed Feb 27 14:21:38 -0800 2008 10189 celeste 1 3441169 Who's the other one? Wed Feb 27 14:24:14 -0800 2008 3441163 11369 Robert Lauriston 2 3441190 Bay Area Meat CSA sponsored by Slow Food: http://bamcsa.pbwiki.com/ They use Marin Sun Farms as well as several other other farms/ranches. Wed Feb 27 14:29:54 -0800 2008 3441169 10189 celeste 3 3444152 I've been on the BAM CSA list since last Summer. Its pretty good, the people are nice and the SF pickup spot is just up the hill from me so it works out well. But its shown us how little beef we (two of us) eat at home 'cause it been a challenge to keep up. Thu Feb 28 11:18:58 -0800 2008 3441190 10252 larochelle 1 3441607 Morris is doing a "CSA-Style" split half where you can have your split half delivered in 3 deliveries spread over a number of months. http://www.morrisgrassfed.com/direct.htm I've had their meat and it is very good. Wed Feb 27 16:30:34 -0800 2008 3441163 15147 mochimunchie 1 3444538 FYI, I run The Meat Club out of North Berkeley. We're a group of individuals and families that periodically buy whole/large parts of pigs, cows, etc. from local, humane, sustainable farms (mostly in Marin). While we're trying to stay rather small, we're still open to new members, so drop me an email at meatclubpresident@yahoo.com if you're interested. The catch is that you generally need to commit to buying around 30-40 lbs of meat at a time, though you can subdivide that with other friends/family on your own as you like. The cost is generally much less than retail and even the recent meat CSAs (around $7/lb average for everything). But, again, you need to accept a big box of meat, and it's not delivered to your door (we generally do pick-ups at my house after I do the butcher run). We may place a pork order from Devil's Gulch Ranch in the next week or so, so let me know if you're interested. Thu Feb 28 13:02:25 -0800 2008 3441163 170347 jamrosen 1 3578660 Celeste, how was your first shipment? They are starting to expand, so I would love to hear some feedback. Wed Apr 09 15:52:53 -0700 2008 3441163 15001 jsaimd 2 3673041 Hi everyone, sorry to take a bit to respond. I've now had two shipments of the monthly club, and could not be happier!!!! The meat is very high quality and I love the variety. I am doing the package where I get 5lb of ground meat, 2 lb of steak cuts, and 4 lb of "roast" cuts a month. First month: - 5 lb ground grassfed beef - 1 lb lamb rib chops (2 chops) - 1 lb rib eye steaks (2 steaks) - 4 lb pork shoulder Second month: - 4 lb ground beef - 1 lb ground pork - 2 lb New york strip steaks (3 steaks) - 2 lb beef tenderloin - 2 lb beef brisket I am a two person household and I cook probably 80% of our dinners in a month at home. We can *just* finish the 11lb each month and in fact the presence of some defrosted meat in the fridge has kept me from being lazy and picking up a burrito or pizza a couple times. I haven't purchased any supplemental meat (besides bacon/pancetta) since joining the club. I'm sure my old meat counter guys miss me and wonder what happened! Also, every month they send out a supplemental list of "add-ons" that you can add to your order (for more $$ of course), so in a few weeks I'm getting a couple organic chicken halves and some raw butter added to my box. You can always order more steaks. I used the lamb rib chops for an Easter dinner for my husband and myself and it was hands down the best lamb I have ever made. I just finished the beef tenderloin, which was also fantastic. I have turned on several people to this meat CSA, and they all really love it. The only thing I feel everyone should think about is your willingness to cook with that much ground meat every month. I am, as my husband LOVES burgers and meatloaf and bolognese sauce, but definitely you need to plot carefully in order to eat it all (at least with 2 people) in varied enough ways every month. Or you can just make sure to have a grassfed beef hamburger BBQ party with some friends. :-) Personally, this is one of my favorite food decisions I have made in recent memory. The meat tastes delicious, I know it's healthier for me and the planet, and I can get surprised each month with my cuts yet still have a lot of time to plot when I am going to make what since I have a month to use it. Highly recommended!! Fri May 09 15:05:46 -0700 2008 3578660 10189 celeste 3 3674808 That's package #3, $75 a month? Sat May 10 12:15:47 -0700 2008 3673041 11369 Robert Lauriston 4 3675284 Yes. Sat May 10 16:06:59 -0700 2008 3674808 25012 chemchef 4 3675421 Yes. Sat May 10 17:15:05 -0700 2008 3674808 10189 celeste 3 3675481 I can't thank you enough for your detailed report. That's a huge help. Sat May 10 17:46:42 -0700 2008 3673041 10658 Atomica 1 3666990 A friend and I are about to sign up for the largest monthly offering. If celeste or anyone else who takes part in the Marin Sun meat CSA has any comments, I'd love to hear them. Wed May 07 20:13:46 -0700 2008 3441163 10658 Atomica 2 3667123 We did end up doing it, but only just started and liked it so far. The meat comes dividable so people do divide it, except that the braising meats were in large roasts - I guess you could cut those in half. The burger I have had tasted good, but hopefully somebody who has taken part in it for longer would comment. I do wish we would have received less beef and more other meats this month, but it is only one month. Wed May 07 21:22:02 -0700 2008 3666990 15001 jsaimd 1 3667072 Very interesting. We've gotten beef twice from Chileno Valley and been pretty happy with it, but we can't do in a quarter cow ourselves, and all of our friends who split with us the first two times have bailed. This sounds like a good alternative. Thanks! Wed May 07 20:52:48 -0700 2008 3441163 23560 Pistou