Current Meat CSA Members
Welcome to the CSA! Here are a few notes of interest
Holidays/Very Bad Weather may require adjustment to the schedule, but we will give you as much notice as possible.
Meat CSA Pick Up Dates for 2011/12 Fall Winter
Evanston November 9, December 7, January 4, February 1, March 7, April 4
Lakeview November 9, December 7, January 4, February 1, March 7, April 4
Oak ParkNovember 22, December 20, January 17, February 21, March 20, April 17
Hyde Park/BridgeportNovember 22, December 20, January 17, February 21, March 20, April 17
Beloit Dec 12, Jan 9, Feb 13, March 12, April 16, May 14
Please, please – pretty please…do not miss a pick up. Products are perishable. If you have ordered yogurt or eggs, we have reserved these just for you, so should you miss a pick up, it is not likely that we can replace them nor can we refund for them as they are special order. We do not live in Chicago, so it is very hard to make arrangements for a missed pick up. We will email you the day before or day of as a reminder. Here is our policy on missed pick ups:
If you must miss, you can send someone else or email us at least 48 hours in advance to work out arrangements to pick up at another location.
If you miss the pick up and other arrangements have not been made, we may try to contact you, but will not stalk you. If you are in Evanston, Oak Park or Hyde Park, our hosts DO NOT have a place to store your highly perishable share. The share will be returned to Wisconsin, and we will try to work with you to get it to you at another CSA location. Meat products can be stored until the next pick up. All other products are specially ordered for you, and have expiration dates, so they cannot be stored. No refunds will be given for missed pick ups. As a rule this has not been a problem, but it happens
Cooking Your Products: We don’t claim to know your cooking experience, so please let us know if you have any questions at all about how to cook something. If you have questions about meat cuts, just let us know. Many of our customers are expert in the kitchen, others are learning about new meat cuts and how to cook them. So if you find yourself scratching your head wondering what to do with a lamb shank or a chuck roast, please do not hesitate to email us. Or, if you have a good recipe you want to share with other CSA members, send it to us and we can pass it on.
Key to a successful CSA experience: Something a bit different for most people is using meat that is frozen. And the only trick about it is to remember to defrost. Trust us, if you don’t get in the groove, your shares will pile up in the freezer.
Product Mix: Each month you will receive something different, and some basic staples. You will likely received ground products each month, because they’re easy to cook with and people always ask us for more. We’ll mix up other lots of other cuts too. Chicken will come whole, halved or cut into pieces. The giblets are inside the package as well. We offer a variety of chicken sizes from 3 to 5 pounds. We’ll rotate those sizes through the subscription period.
Product Labels: Our products are labeled with the processor name. The processor is required to label the products, so we don’t have special labels made with our name. Lois, from Marr’s Valley View, our beef producer, often adds an additional label with her farm name. Our processing is usually done at Lena Maid Meats or Twin City Pack.
Recycling: We try to use recycled materials as often as possible so please bring your egg cartons, yogurt boxes, paper bags and plastic bags (in good working order.)
