Last month, the folks at South Pond Farms started a Butcher Box on their website, allowing guests to order cuts of meat that they source from local farms. A Butcher Share takes this journey a step further to meaningfully connect to a different way and philosophy of eating. Their Butcher Share is an opportunity to be part of a community of whole animal eaters and share in the bounty of what the animal has to offer.
What does this really mean? Whole animal eating is the practice of purchasing your meat directly from farmers as whole animals. This is appealing to those of us who want to know where our meat is coming from and how it was raised. It is also often more economical to buy a whole animal directly from a farmer. However, the problem is that most people today either don't know a farmer or how to make that connection, or more commonly, don't have the space in their home to store meat in bulk.
The South Pond Farms butcher share program aims to solve these problems. They connect with the farmers they already know and trust and work with throughout their regular season. They know the life and home of the animal and by ordering, you participate in that knowledge as well. They support them by purchasing their animals in advance and in its entirety. They then hand over the animal to a local butcher shop that they work closely with to break the animal down into cuts that are smaller and more familiar. Then they put together manageable shares that you can fit into your fridge or freezer.
South Pond Farms have always valued the highest quality ingredients.
Quality is reflected in how vegetables and meats are raised - including soil quality, nutrients, care and compassion. Whether it is a radish in the ground or a lamb on a farm, the farmers raising it determine the quality of the food we then put into our bodies for nourishment.
Like many of us in the local food space, they believe there is a disconnect between us and our food and the people who grow our food. They hope this program will help connect their customers with where their meat is being raised, how it is being raised and knowing the entire process from start to finish with confidence.
JULY BUTCHER SHARE
The Butcher Share this month is lamb. The lamb comes from Middle Kingdom Farm in Bethany. It is a family run farm, raising Rideau Arcott Sheep sheep with compassion. They are located near South Pond Farms and over the years, SPF have purchased and served their lamb for many of their events.
With the help of Sweet Beast Butcher Shop in Peterborough, they have assembled 10lb shares of lamb cuts. Each cut is in approximately 2lb packages, perfect for 4 portions. 10lbs of lamb will feed approximately 20 - 25 portions. Everything will be fresh when you receive it so you can use it right away, or stock up your freezer for future use. Each share is $180.00.
