Can I give you...

How serendipitous is this?!?

A day or two before the Thanksgiving holiday we were at the store buying a few last minute ingredients so we could get our pies and some cookies made. 

Standing by the meat aisle I couldn't help but feel discouraged. All those people picking up packages, poking at them, turning them over, sorting through. I wanted to scream "Hey we have really really yummy pork!!!" But I kept quiet. And my dismal thoughts rolled forward as did the shopping cart. 

Finding the baking aisle and looking at cookie sprinkles I couldn't shake it. Did "knowing your farmer" even matter? Does our work even count? Is it worth it to keep sacrificing everything we have to keep trying to change the way our community eats? Lord, please show us the way, because this path is getting pretty dim. My melancholy pondering was suddenly interrupted by my phone buzzing that a message from a friend had arrived. 

"Hi! I’m tasked with finding a ham for Thursday. Can I please give you my money, instead of the store?! 😃"

Of course you can!!! I left the shopping to the fam and tried to scoot out to the truck to answer with a call. But also because I was tearing up. Right there in the baking aisle the Maker had made it known that yes, it is worth it! And that despite the zooming feed costs and plummeting profit margins, He's here with us. 

On my way out, take one guess who I ran into at the checkout? That's right! The friend! "Oh my gosh" we squealed. We giggled at the irony, we hugged (and then I of course snuggled up the beautiful chubby cheeked baby girl of hers as we talked.) She went on to tell me she was standing at the case back there and shocked at the price, disappointed by the quality. That she couldn't figure out about half the ingredients in the ham. That she remembered some of the photos she's seen of how commercial pigs were raised. And perhaps most touching.... 

That she wants us to be able to eat too, that she wants her dollars to matter. She knows by buying local she keeps us going, not just the farm, but the fam!

That's the thing, this is all we do. We farm. This isn't a hobby. It isn't just for fun. It isn't just a "job". 

It's our passion.  It's our commitment. And it's our hope you'll be able to taste that in our pork, hear it when we talk and see it when you meet. It's our yearning that you too will pause when your at the store and say "Wait, I'm calling the farm!"

We have a few hogs left on the next batch headed to harvest in bulk shares of whole or half. And we also have several smaller "by the pound" packages in stock. 

If you don't want to shuffle through stacks of lackluster, questionable quality Styrofoam trays of pork, give us a call! We would love it if you let us fill your freezer with wholesome, succulent pork just for you! 

And then, you can #knowyourfarmer too!

Makerslongacres.com

Sagle, Idaho