Just got back from walking the puppy and had some thoughts while I was out there in the cold and rain by myself. Came home and read a post by my good friend Steve
Steve H
and he commented on the exact things that ran through my mind while out with the puppy. First a little history. I grew up in the construction industry. My father was a contractor from the time I was 6. For those not familiar with life in construction, it's always hit or miss, feast or famine. Half of our basement was floor to ceiling shelves and chest freezers. My mom was in a food co op. She and the other ladies in the area would buy directly from a distributor and buy in bulk. The only caveat was that they had to order full cases of stuff. Often as not the ladies would take a few cans each until the full case was allocated for and order it. Food was delivered once a month at the local fire department. Everything was divided out per what each person ordered and we'd take it all home. Those shelves and freezers stayed full at all times when things were good so we didn't do without when things went south. That preparedness is something I grew up with and it's stuck with me my entire life. Any of you that have had the misfortune of reading something I've posted know that I tend to keep well stocked with meats, a lot of which are homemade. Tracy always keeps us stocked with other essentials. When this melee hit, we didn't have to do anything to be prepared for it....we already were. I got a call from my sales manager at Certified Piedmontese Beef last Monday letting me know that people were hitting the online food sources hard. They stood a chance of running very low on inventory and if there was something I might need, I should consider ordering it before things get terminal. Talked to Tracy and we decided to place a considerable order. This was noted in a different thread yesterday but thought I should clarify a bit and expand a tad on what Steve mentioned. We are in good shape but some other folks may not be in quite as good a position and if things continue to get worse, we wanted to be in a position to help. Some of this has already been posted but here's what we did in order to ensure that nobody goes hungry on our guard. This was the order that showed up yesterday.
A bunch of steaks, some ground beef, and two 103 sub primal rib sections.
The two 103 sub primal rib sections will be treated differently. One will get cut into tomahawk rib eyes and the other will be trimmed and set up to be a full prime rib. Here is a pic of the freezer in the garage. All of the boxed stuff that was just delivered is here but the two 103 rib sections are not
On the door is some of the homemade sausages and cured meats. The rest are in the other three freezers inside, as well as 6 or 8 more boxes of CPB, things like tenderloin patties, all beef hot dogs, more ground beef, etc.
Here is the pic that's most relevant to this thread
Those four large boxes are specially made shipping coolers that CPB uses to deliver their frozen meats in. They pack the stuff and add reusable frozen ice blocks, which I've also been saving. All of this is has been saved in order to help somebody who may not be in a position to get what they need to sustain. I know there's no way we can save the whole world, but if somebody...anybody we know needs food, we can ensure they don't go without. I can pack the stuff up, add ice blocks, and ship 2-day air to ensure the meat arrives safely. It's not a huge gesture but blessedly we are in a position that we can be prepared, for ourselves and for others if the need arises. I just thought I should take a minute and explain the rationale behind our large purchase in hopes that folks don't think I'm being part of the supply problem by "hoarding". This isn't about us, it's about helping other people if need be. In all honesty, we will be having a friend drop by at some point today who is in need of help. She's a server at my little pub, which closed down a few days ago. She has no money and no food. That will all be changing for her later. I've known her for a long time and she's just a wonderful person.There's no way that lady is going to do without...not if there is anything we can do about it.
Thanks to all for understanding,
Robert
Steve H
and he commented on the exact things that ran through my mind while out with the puppy. First a little history. I grew up in the construction industry. My father was a contractor from the time I was 6. For those not familiar with life in construction, it's always hit or miss, feast or famine. Half of our basement was floor to ceiling shelves and chest freezers. My mom was in a food co op. She and the other ladies in the area would buy directly from a distributor and buy in bulk. The only caveat was that they had to order full cases of stuff. Often as not the ladies would take a few cans each until the full case was allocated for and order it. Food was delivered once a month at the local fire department. Everything was divided out per what each person ordered and we'd take it all home. Those shelves and freezers stayed full at all times when things were good so we didn't do without when things went south. That preparedness is something I grew up with and it's stuck with me my entire life. Any of you that have had the misfortune of reading something I've posted know that I tend to keep well stocked with meats, a lot of which are homemade. Tracy always keeps us stocked with other essentials. When this melee hit, we didn't have to do anything to be prepared for it....we already were. I got a call from my sales manager at Certified Piedmontese Beef last Monday letting me know that people were hitting the online food sources hard. They stood a chance of running very low on inventory and if there was something I might need, I should consider ordering it before things get terminal. Talked to Tracy and we decided to place a considerable order. This was noted in a different thread yesterday but thought I should clarify a bit and expand a tad on what Steve mentioned. We are in good shape but some other folks may not be in quite as good a position and if things continue to get worse, we wanted to be in a position to help. Some of this has already been posted but here's what we did in order to ensure that nobody goes hungry on our guard. This was the order that showed up yesterday.A bunch of steaks, some ground beef, and two 103 sub primal rib sections.
The two 103 sub primal rib sections will be treated differently. One will get cut into tomahawk rib eyes and the other will be trimmed and set up to be a full prime rib. Here is a pic of the freezer in the garage. All of the boxed stuff that was just delivered is here but the two 103 rib sections are not
On the door is some of the homemade sausages and cured meats. The rest are in the other three freezers inside, as well as 6 or 8 more boxes of CPB, things like tenderloin patties, all beef hot dogs, more ground beef, etc.
Here is the pic that's most relevant to this thread
Those four large boxes are specially made shipping coolers that CPB uses to deliver their frozen meats in. They pack the stuff and add reusable frozen ice blocks, which I've also been saving. All of this is has been saved in order to help somebody who may not be in a position to get what they need to sustain. I know there's no way we can save the whole world, but if somebody...anybody we know needs food, we can ensure they don't go without. I can pack the stuff up, add ice blocks, and ship 2-day air to ensure the meat arrives safely. It's not a huge gesture but blessedly we are in a position that we can be prepared, for ourselves and for others if the need arises. I just thought I should take a minute and explain the rationale behind our large purchase in hopes that folks don't think I'm being part of the supply problem by "hoarding". This isn't about us, it's about helping other people if need be. In all honesty, we will be having a friend drop by at some point today who is in need of help. She's a server at my little pub, which closed down a few days ago. She has no money and no food. That will all be changing for her later. I've known her for a long time and she's just a wonderful person.There's no way that lady is going to do without...not if there is anything we can do about it.
Thanks to all for understanding,
Robert
