Let’s talk about a sensitive subject for a second - grocery store prices. We’re all aware of the spike we’ve seen at the checkout lately. And nowhere is this more obvious than when you’re buying meat.

I’ve loved being able to source our family’s meat directly from our farm. Skipping the meat counter when I visit the grocery store has saved me (in the past) nearly $70 - $80 a month! I don’t even know how much that would be now. But we’ve also gotten to that time of year when our supply is just near gone and so I’ve found myself picking up meat here or there from the store, and boy is that hard to do when you haven’t had to for almost a year.

Now let me put on my geek hat for a minute and talk about how I LOVE doing a good comparison. It’s a part of business. Checking out competitor pricing. Analyzing our costs to produce a product. Figuring out just how much our time and labor is worth. In short, numbers. It’s how we set our pricing, and it’s something we’re constantly doing. Especially now when the cost of everything is rising - buying animals, feed, processing. You name it, it’s going up.

When we say our pasture-raised chickens cost $4.25-$4.50 per pound, sometimes I get raised eyebrows. When you’re buying a chicken that averages a total weight of 4 lbs., you’re looking at $16+ per chicken. Some people can’t fathom spending that amount on chicken. But how big of a difference is it than what you’re seeing at the store right now?

Normally we don’t do a lot of comparison to grocery store pricing because this isn’t as accurate to the costs for a small farm like us. Much of the meat grocery stores sell is sourced from large farms that produce a ton of animals and get price breaks on the volume they produce. But I was curious, so I took a look at chicken pricing. Here’s a sample of what I found (full big box store names left out):

• Chicken Breasts

  • Store “M”: $4.79/lb., approx. 2.14 lbs. = $10.25 per package (before tax)

  • Store “W”: $4.48/lb., approx. 1.75 - 3 lbs. = $9.05 per package (before tax)

• Chicken Thighs

  • Store “M”: $2.29/lb., approx. 2.12 lbs. = $4.85 per package (before tax)

  • Store “W”: $2.88/lb., approx. 1.75 - 2.8 lbs. = $6.48 per package (before tax)

• Whole Chicken

  • Store “M” - $1.99/lb., approx. 6.77 lbs. = $13.47 (before tax)

  • Store “W” - $1.32/lb., approx. 5.0 - 7.0 lbs. = $7.37 (before tax)

An interesting look at things. Now let me just add one more thing that not a lot of people know. Many grocery stores and/or their suppliers inject a water and salt solution into their chicken meat. I’m not making this up - go do some internet searching and you’ll find this info. Why? They say it’s to increase the flavor and extend shelf life. You might have noticed this water when you cook your meat up. Why does this matter? This water solution increases the weight of the chicken, which you pay for. You’re paying for water that cooks off in the pan. Just something to think about…

But lets get away from the just the numbers, because while I do love numbers there’s always the human element. And what’s missing from the above is - Joe and Danielle Devota. :)

When you buy chicken from the store, it’s simply a transaction. You might be doing what I used to, looking through the selection to find the package with the lowest price tag. In the cart, through the checkout, freezer, pan, repeat.

You don’t think of where that chicken came from, who raised it, how it was raised, what it was fed, etc. But it’s something you’ve put into your body to gain energy and nutrition from. You made it and served it to your family.

When you buy a chicken from our farm, you now put faces to that chicken. You know that Joe and/or Danielle personally raised, fed, and cared for that bird - for you. You can follow along on our blog/website/social media and watch the birds grow, on grass. You can watch a video or read a post from me and actually see the feed we’re giving them. And our farm is open, which means we welcome visitors to come and see the animals, observe their living conditions and health for yourself.

And we believe there is a difference in the flavor of our chickens. We strive for the kind of flavor where you take a bite and stop to appreciate it.

When you buy a chicken from us, you are directly supporting our family and small business. Something so simple as buying a chicken is helping us make our dream a reality.