Kosher Meat Solution

Not too long ago, DovBear allowed me to guest post about glatt and the high cost of kosher meat and poultry. At the time. I asked for some suggestions to help alleviate this high cost of being a frum Jew. Since then, I managed to gather some information and even come up with a viable solution.

I spoke with a fellow at AgriProcessors about the high cost of meat and poultry. He told me they slaughter about five hundred head of cattle per day. Of those five hundred, only one hundred twenty five (yes, 125) are actually kosher. The rest are completely traif. Of the 125, only between thirty-five and forty (yes again, 35-40) are considered "glatt" for Ashkenazim (Sepharadim won't touch it!). The rest are sold under their "David's" label as non-glatt kosher meat.

Now remember, since for some reason Ashkenazim don't like to use the back half of the cow (because they don't like to traiber or something like that...), we only get to use the front half, which cuts this whole number in half. Hence, the extreme high price of glatt kosher meat.

When I asked him about poultry, which doesn't have the issue of being glatt, he gave me a very straightforward and simple answer: "We can't get enough chickens!" So this is a beautiful case of supply and demand.

Then, this fellow gave me a solution. He told me to call one of the kosher meat suppliers in my area and proceeded to give me the supplier's name and phone number. I called this person, and he gave me prices that were about half the price of the kosher butcher stores. In other words, THE KOSHER STORES DOUBLE THE PRICE OF THE MEAT AND POULTRY THEY SELL!!! How crazy is that?! Anyway, this supplier is happy to sell me meat wholesale, as long as I buy by the case. I can buy ANYTHING, even stuff the kosher stores don't sell, and for HALF THE PRICE!!! If you don't want to buy by the case, get a few people together and put in a big order! Meat and poultry freeze well and keep in the freezer for up to six months! So, here's the solution: Call AgriProcessors. Find out who the wholesaler/supplier is in your area. Get a group together, and buy kosher meat for about the same price (maybe even less) as the traif meat you see in the supermarkets!!

Oh, and find out about delivery. My guy here told me if I order over two hundred lbs. worth of meat and poultry, he'll deliver it for FREE!! And when you order as a group, two hundred lbs. adds up pretty quickly. He brought me a sixteen page list of the products they carry or can get, stuff you almost never see in the stores! So, start saving money and call AgriProcessors today at (563) 864-7811 or (563) 864-7539. I don't remember the name of the person with whom I spoke, but I'm sure the operator will direct you to the right person.