Locavore Delivery Sourcing Standards
We believe in real food. We believe in transparency. We believe that food is medicine.
We also believe that the enemy of progress is perfection. Some of our products are not available locally due to constraints with processing, or other infrastructure. For example, our pastured poultry is raised in Central Kansas, close to the nearest USDA inspected poultry processor- raising the birds in Kansas reduces stress when the birds are brought the short distance to the processor. The pork used to make River Bear Products at their Denver facility is raised in Iowa, and meets the minimum standards outlined here.
Our intention here is to clearly share the minimum standards our Ranch Partners have in the raising of the animals that we consume so you can make well informed choices on exactly what you are eating.
Some of our producers have additional certifications, and those are listed on their Producer Profile along with lots of farm specific info, including photos.
Heritage Pork
100% GMO Free Feed. Feed may contain Corn and/or Soy, but is 100% GMO free. Feed may or may not be organic depending on availability. We source organic when possible, but not always.
Pasture Raised. Our hogs are free roaming on pasture. They also have free access to shelter which is as necessary as shelter for humans. The hogs can dig, root, forage, mud bath, sun bathe, and do whatever they like.
Drug/Hormone Free. All of our pork is free of anti-biotics, hormones, MRNA, and the like. If an animal gets sick and requires antibiotics, the animal is not sold by us.
Cage Free. Our sows are not kept in farrowing crates when giving birth or nurturing piglets. Ever. None of our hogs are kept in cages.
Heritage Breed. All of our hogs are 1 or more heritage breeds. Many of our hogs are first generation mixes of heritage breeds create “hybrid vigor” similar to mixed breed dogs. They are generally healthier, more robust hogs which tolerate the diverse conditions of being pasture raised. As a result, there is a variety of marbling and meat color with pasture raised pork and it will definitely have more marbling than grocery store pork.
Grassfed Beef and Bison
100% grass diet. All of our grassfed beef and bison is 100% grassfed and finished. They eat pasture cover when the seasons permit, and baled grasses in the colder months. The pastures and hay are never treated chemically in any way. While some beef labeled as 100% grassfed is fed grass pellets in confinement, you will not find that beef or bison here.
No Feedlots: Our ruminants are never finished in a feedlot environment, they are finished on pasture, to reduce animal stress and generally keep them happier.
Drug/Hormone Free. All of our beef and bison is free of anti-biotics, hormones, MRNA, and the like. If an animal gets sick and requires antibiotics, the animal is not sold by us.
Grade: All the beef we sell is Choice Grade or above. Some products that consistently Grade Prime are marked.
Pastured Lamb
Feed: American Grassfed Association Certified. (more strict than organic)
Breed: Columbia mixed breds to do well on high plains.
Never given any drugs, vaccines, or the like. Sick animals that are treated with targeted vaccines are removed from supply.
Wild Caught Seafood
Sustainable. We source wild caught fish directly from the fisherperson in Alaska. Alaska has the best managed wild fisheries in the world. The fish is free of any additives or colorings, and is flash frozen within hours of being caught.
We buy direct from the fisherman/women, and proudly support their family traditions and businesses.
Pastured Poultry
Small Flock. Our birds are raised in flocks of 500 or less.
Never inside. Our birds are never inside once they leave the brooder, and are moved daily, by hand to fresh chemical free pasture 1-2 times a day. They enjoy plenty of space to move, sun or shade options, and they are guarded by dogs, not cages.
Feed. Our birds are fed a ration of toasted soy and GMO free corn, in addition to a few mineral supplements. They also eat lots of bugs and pasture forage.
Breed: We raise both Cornish Cross and Freedom Ranger birds, depending on the season. Our ducks are Pekin.
Air chilled: When processed, the birds are put in a blast chiller to cool them rapidly. Most commercial chicken is chilled in a “solution bath” that contains chlorine, salt, and other things we do not want in our food. Additionally, air chilled chicken does not shrink as much when cooked, because it never absorbed the “solution” in the first place.
Our promise to you:
Everything we sell (with few, clearly marked exceptions) is locally pasture raised, and processed in small, family owned facilities that care deeply about animal welfare.
None of our meats, poultry or wild caught seafood have ever been given any drugs, hormones, vaccines, or the like. We call it our “no cages, no drugs, no bullshit guarantee”
Have a specific sourcing or processing question? We will answer it. Just ask.
You always know exactly where your food is coming from and how it was raised- because transparency matters.
If we cannot source a particular cut from one of our vetted ranch partners, we will not go out and find some BS to sell in its place, we will just not have it.