The Urban Omnivore

“How does an urbanite get access to grass-fed meats?”

A quick Google search led me to eatwild, a site dedicated to grass-fed food. Eatwild has plenty of informative materials on eating grass-fed meats including health benefits and a search for local farms. Fine, but how does all of this apply to me? What would I need to do to purchase grass-fed meats? How could I make it economical in terms of cost and time?

After a few days trying to see if anyone else had answered these questions, I decided to try and get the answers myself. I chose the nearest farm that I could… one that had as many of the products that I’m interested in as possible (beef, pork, chickens, eggs). That farm turned out to be Misty Brook Farm in Hardwick Massachusetts. I sent an email to the listed address with questions about prices, the purchasing process and how customers typically interact with the farm. Of course, I tried not to sound as ignorant as I was but I’m pretty sure they knew!

Later that week, I got a reply with a price list and some very useful information:

1. All meat is sold frozen
2. Meats sold by the cut are first come, first serve
3. Whole and half animals need to be pre-ordered well before the season starts
4. Whole and half animals are custom cut, wrapped in freezer paper, and frozen by the butcher that the farm uses

I was also told that they were almost sold out of beef but that they would have a new batch of pork in a few weeks. My wife and I are planning on visiting the farm to get a feel for the buying process… and of course to pick up a few pounds of tasty pork! It will be good to talk to the farmers and find out in person what I would need to do to make my trips up there worthwhile. Obviously we’d want to buy in bulk to not have to make the trip too often (probably about 1.5 hours)… can they support that if we purchase by the cut? Will there be enough cuts of our favorite types when we visit?