It's a Moo-vement

Would you like to buy half a cow?

by Drew Lazor

Shares in seasonal Community Supported Agriculture programs, or CSAs, have long been commodities with Philly's buy-fresh, buy-local crowd — folks drop a lump sum to receive regular shipments of regionally grown in-season goodness from area farms, then spend a week bolstering their vitamin intake and fretting over what the hell to do with 4 pounds of Jerusalem artichokes.

The CSA model is a brilliant option for city dwellers who want to get their hands on the best green stuff, but many programs offer little to no love when it comes to protein. What if there was a way to buy directly into beef? Wouldn't it be sweet to have access to a thick, juicy CSP — Community Supported Porterhouse?

That's precisely what Jessica Moore is doing with Philadelphia Cow Share (PCS). The West Philly resident's business, which she launched in March, narrows the disconnect separating cattle from urban carnivores by providing the bulk-purchasing option that's logistically unattainable via farmers market, co-op or grocery store visit.

Moore grew up in southern Indiana, where she says her family engaged in a similar, if more informal, practice with Midwestern herd tenders. She selects farms in Philly's surrounding counties (Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Mercer) that raise cows the right way — grass-fed, free-range, hormone- and antibiotic-free. Some of these clients are not even in the beef business — Moore says she gravitates toward farmsteads that rely on a bovine population "as part of the general health of their farm and their agricultural businesses," citing a Lancaster-based pick-your-own-fruit orchard that raises cows on its hilly topography as an example.

From here, Moore oversees the butchering, processing, packaging and delivery of a customer's PCS order, which can be placed for a quarter, half or whole cow — each order comes strictly from one individual animal. (Prices vary depending on the size of the cow, but $995 is provided as a ballpark price for a quarter share.) Quarters can range anywhere from 85 to 130 pounds of meat and feature a wide variety of cuts, from premium steaks and roast pieces to ground beef and cubed meat for stews in the winter. (Orders can be customized by request.) Moore estimates that a quarter share requires roughly 5.5 cubic feet of freezer space, and will last a family that eats red meat once a week for about a year.

"I'm buying from a farmer, I'm paying a butcher and a processing company, all of whom are family-owned and local," says Moore of PCS' appeal to the meat-eating, geo-conscious populace. "The money that [customers] are paying stays right in this region. People care about that."

(drew.lazor@citypaper.net)

For more on Philly Cow Share, visit phillycowshare.com.