ISO Local farm raised meat

[devilham]

In light of the recent swine flu freakout, the idea of supporting large agrobusiness kind of turns me off. As an avid BBQ fan, I love cooking pork year round, and would really like it if I could a. support local business, and b. purchase a healthier form of pork that doesn't destroy the environment (and peoples lives). Any suggestions on farms and or outlets that sell this sort of thing? I am in the metro southwest area, but am willing to drive at least an hour out for something like this as I have a chest freezer in my basement, and would by in bulk to diminish trips out. Any thoughts?

[jdubboston]

Agree with everyone's suggestions - one good source for all is the website www.localharvest.org. You can search by zip code and type of item you're looking for. There are many small farms that sell only from their own farmstands and you'll find most of them on the site.

[tdaaa]

Houde family farm CSA also delivers to the area, and will certainly accomodate requests for extra. I have been very impressed with the quality of the meat, although thus far the variety has been somewhat limited.

[sushibox]

Lionette's is awesome, especially for pork. The Harvest Coops (JP & Cambridge) also carry Hardwick Beef (a consortium of NE grass-fed producers).

[Small Plates]

We belong to the Chestnut Farm CSA, which provides shares year round. They are charging roughly $8 per pound, and each monthly share usually comes with 2 or 3 different pork products. We have the lamb option so our shares are a little thinner on the pork from time-to-time, especially when there is a bunch of lamb at the ready.

They drop off in Natick, Waltham and Arlington, among other places.

http://www.chestnutfarms.org/index.ph...

Check them out... the product is consistently good. You can also visit the farm at one of their 2 annual Open Farm days - Rich and Kim are both very nice, and their monthly newsletter keeps you up to date on what is happening from the farmer's perspective.

[tsackton]

Lionette's Market in the South End is a good year-round option: http://www.lionettesmarket.com/

Stillman's goes to a number of markets once the farmer's market season starts: http://www.stillmansfarm.com/turkeyfa...

[tallullah]

We got a tri tip from Lionette's that was spectacular. The whole store supports local farmers/companies and they will cut to order.

[alwayscooking]

They get a whole pig weekly (true to my knowledge as of 6 months ago) and cut to order. They also order local sides of beef. Specific cuts of meat should be called in early and reserved. The remainder goes into their sausage and hamburger - both highly recommended.

[9lives]

This place is worth checking out. I've been buying fish from them for years. ...superb quality.

This is a fairly new venture for them and I know how committed the owner is to high quality.

http://www.concordprime.com/index.html

[emilief]

I have ordered a 20 lb package of pork from Pete and Jen's Backyard Birds in Concord
[e-mail]. They are on the same road as Verrill Farms. They were taking orders for packages of various cuts and whole hogs in the spring to be available in the fall.

[Gio]

How about Stillman Farm? They are located in Hardwick but have several drop-off locations in and around Boston/Cambridge. Here's the CSA web site:

http://www.stillmansfarm.com/meatcsa....

[MrsCheese]

Stillman's pork is awesome. We're a member of their CSA, but you don't need to join to get their meat. They sell it at the farmer's markets. Just check out their website. They will also do special orders. (You have to get some of their bacon too - it's made me a bacon convert!)

[ScubaSteve]

check out Blood Farm.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/382673