This is different, right? Who are these people meeting up in a parking lot and getting food off a huge truck?! So. Weird.
Yeah, it's TOTALLY different but it's totally cool! Our co-op members are loving it and we are working double time keep up with its growth. It's pretty legit once you see how it all works. Want the short version or the long version?
I'll start with the short version. HERE YA GO!
1. Create an account. 2. Add food to your cart. 3. Pick a location. 4. Meet us and the truck at that day/time/location. 5. We load you up and off you go with all the goodies for your freezer!
Once you have a login and account with you and if you see food on the home page, you're ready to start adding the goodness to your cart. Don't forget to check out our current schedule, that will also help determine what we've got going on. If the date is passed us, hang around for the next one! Oh, yeah, there's also VIP memberships. Hop over here to read more but simply put it gets you 5% off the co-op's regular, fresh line of products, gets you early access to order, and in a quicker, separate line at pick up.
Okayyyyy, the longer version....stay with me! It's good stuff.
So...why the co-op?
During the pandemic we saw a problem and we looked for a solution when food was scarce. We have found it more necessary than we even originally realized. It helps with food security, encourages our Utah economy to grow, and it supports small businesses and farmers. Y'all, Cassie and I are food snobs! We are even more snobby with our meats. We've learned a WHOLE lot about this industry and let's just say, generally speaking, I won't even pick up a package of meat at the store that states it's "on sale" or "clearanced." That's why we both buy this way and have for a loooong time. As far as the co-op goes, we won't offer anything that doesn't quite meet our standards or the co-op's standards of quality, taste, and looks and we try to keep prices low for all budgets. This is for all of us!
Okay...where do you get your food?
Cassie and I work together each month to find FRESH meats and foods that are of superb quality. We always try to find local, but "local" has SEVERAL different meanings the longer we are working with this industry. Local could mean a farmer out of Salt Lake or a farm in Idaho, a small ancient, organic grains business out of Utah county, distributors in northern Utah, or the best chicken farms out of the midwest and salmon that's fished and processed within the borders of the U.S. Let's put it this way...we try to keep all our food as close to home as possible!
We are transparent and open about resourcing the co-op's foods because that's also important to us. No surprises unless WE are surprised as well.
Cool...how does this work?
Our website explains it as well but in short, create an account online at FoodAndMeatCoop.com. We don't always have food posted so hang tight which means we are in between deliveries but in the mean time join our group on Facebook for announcements! Better yet, if you are like me and have issues with FOMO, get extra cozy with us on text and email. This is where you will not miss our co-op's latest offerings, new products, deliveries, reminders. Basically, all the things as long as your cell carrier is working with us. We do not SPAM because that's something we don't like.
Okay, you have your account created, now what? If you see food listed on the home page then you are good to get in on the action! So, jump in there and start filling up your cart with the goodness you want to stock your freezer up with. Make sure to choose a location. Super, super important step for us. It is basically the core of how we operate. We organize the truck by days so if you scheduled for pick up on Saturday and you come Friday, your food won't be on there cause it's waiting for you on Saturday.
It's bulk though! I can't deal with 40lbs of chicken breast?!
No biggie. You can! Just grab some quart or gallon freezer bags and throw about 4 breasts in there. More if you'd like, depends on the size of your family. I stuff about 3 per quart size freezer bag.
Okay...I've ordered. Now what?
First of all, Cassie and I love meeting everyone at pick up! We've made some awesome friends and have gotten to know amazing people that are dear to us so we are stoked to see you!
Now that you've ordered just be sure to put in your calendar the day, time, location and turn on that alert! Remember, you can check the schedule on our website at any time. Come hop in line and we'll get you checked in with with a name or order number. We have volunteers that help us load up your car and away you go.