04/07/2025
A note on beef prices (ooof...) -
We've always cost a bit more, that's no secret. It comes with only using local, fully grass-fed & finished beef. It costs us more, and it takes more work, which we are happy to do. That's why we are here. One thing that we deal with though is the perception that our prices are "always going up". The truth is they really aren't. Our ground beef prices are lower now that they were 3 years ago. Some cuts do go up for sure, particularly premium cuts, but others we have been able to keep steady, or even push down.
We deal in whole-animal, we can be flexible, we adapt. We are here to feed people, people who deserve to eat well and with intention, people who see food as something that brings joy, comfort, connection, and security. Not as something to weaponize in a trade war.
With the launch of last week's tariffs/taxes, a lot more people are buying Canadian beef right now. Like, a lot. Unfortunately, this massive shift happened literally overnight, and that demand has put unbelievable strain on a finite supply. Cows take time to grow, and it will take months if not years for the supply and demand to rebalance given the ride we're all currently on.
We buy exclusively Canadian & exclusively local, so we were hoping to be less affected by the tariffs/taxes. But with such a huge portion of the country's suppliers switching to local overnight, prices have taken then sharpest turn we've ever seen.
For perspective, in the last 4 months beef costs have risen 10-15% - this was already a record high trend, and one that has been a challenge to manage over the space of several months, though it has been doable. Apparently, that was nothing.
Last week beef increased a truly staggering 15-45%. In one day. And there is no indication that it has stopped there.
For now, we are doing everything we can. Everything.
We will be keeping the price of staples as low as we can, we will be focusing on excellent cuts that are still under the radar enough so as to remain affordable, and we will be looking at how best we can continue to feed our people - good people, people who should not be punished for their concern about what they eat, people who should not be taxed for choosing to buy local, people whose quality of life should not be threatened by the selfish whims of others, people who truly don't deserve to be treated like this.
We love our community, we are here to feed our people, we are here to do the hard work, whatever comes. We are here with you. And when we get through this, it will be because of how we treated and cared for each other throughout, and how we faced aggression, selfishness, and bullying - the absolute lowest of human qualities - with compassion, concern, and inventiveness - our most redeeming human qualities.
"On the other side of the conflagration there will still be love."
Elbows up.