Every time my wife and I go to the grocery store, I'm amazed at the cost of meat these days. Ground beef in my area is around 4.99 per pound, and the rest is much higher. My son in law is a farmer here in Missouri, and told me that he doesn't expect these prices to go down anytime soon. In the early 1980s, I was an apprentice carpenter. My wife and I had four young children at home. The cost of child care was more than we could afford, so, my wife stayed home when the kids were young. Here's how it worked out for us: taking my tax return, I bought a nice, used chest freezer from an older couple. I contacted a local farmer, who was selling corn fed beef directly from his farm. I bought a half cow. The initial cost is high, but this beef lasted us an entire year. Generally, the cost is the same per pound for everything. In other words, you may pay slightly more for ground beef, but this cost includes steaks, roast, brisket, and all the other cuts. The advantage is that you can order how you like the meat cut, to suit your needs. Here in Missouri, most beeves go up for butcher in the spring, and again in the fall.This worked out well for us for several years. Basically, you eliminate the middle man, buying direct from a farm. I bought meat from the same man each year. Doing this, along with growing a large garden, and canning many vegtables, helped put food on the table for our family for several years. This is a suggestion and may not be for everyone. But, if you've got a large family to feed, it can be a good way to go. I fully understand the cost of raising and feeding a large family. I've been there, and it's never been easy. The corn fed farm beef was always delicious, and the 100.00 chest freezer ended up working for eleven years, before it finally quit. For several years, I kept a large Mason jar on my dresser, and would throw all my spare change, as well as dollars in the jar, to save for the family beef. This works with pork as well. This helped immensely with the family grocery bill. My kids always had good food growing up, and, were able to enjoy meat which we probably couldn't afford at the grocery store, on the wages of an apprentice carpenter.
