how to buy local meat for less: in bulk

April 21, 2008 by Sara Zoe.

From a Yahoo Finance article that is sort of freakishly local comes advice on buying local meat: buy it by the animal. Unfortunately for the aspiring butchers out there, the meat comes packaged in normal and recognizable cuts, there’s just a lot of it:

What does the high price of food mean to the average frugal grocery shopper? Eat locally. Produce, meat, poultry and eggs grown nearby have always been better for the environment. Now, because of high fuel prices, buying local is also the smartest way to shop.

Purchase produce in season and frequent farmer’s markets, where you’ll find the best deals on the freshest fruits and vegetables. Invest in a freezer, if you have the space, and buy your meat locally as well.

Uber saver Mike Hegarty, a CPA in Des Moines, Iowa, says he saves $500 a year on meat by purchasing whole animals from local farms.

In case you’ve never done it and you’re having a hard time visualizing it in your garage, when you buy a quarter of a cow from a local farm, a butcher cuts it into the familiar hamburger, flank and sirloin steaks and packages it for you. An extra bonus: Local farms often raise all-natural or even organic beef, pork and chicken.

Sources of local meat on the Seacoast (Seacoast Eat Local wiki) > 

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