Looking Ahead to Independence Day -- Freedom to Choose!

As I've been thinking about what to put into the share this week, I've wrestled with how best to support your 4th of July grilling aspirations next week. Should I offer something new and interesting? A premium cut like porterhouse? But not everyone wants to experiment on a holiday, and 2 lbs doesn't go far if you're throwing a party... Maybe some folks didn't cook those ribeyes yet, and a few more would make a perfect batch for you and a few of your friends. Hmmm... Or maybe just ground beef, so you can pick up a few more lbs at retail and make a mess of burgers without breaking the bank for your party? A real head-scratcher for your farmer.

In a traditional, strict pricing model, any decision I make won't be optimal for some CSA members, and will push our per-pound-price average in one direction or another. Porterhouse, or ground, or chuck steaks would all need to be balanced later in the summer by something else. But this is CSA, and the thing I love most about CSA is that it offers the farmer a little more flexibility in terms of strict pricing and lets us focus on relationships. While I don't know what will fit your plans the best, you do! So here's the deal, in honor of Independence Day and our many freedoms, individual and collective:

You pick! Take any two pounds of beef that will round out your plans. Rather than worry about whether you take porterhouse or ground, I'm just asking that you honor the spirit of CSA and our cooperative freedoms and let us know what you selected and how it turned out. If some more burger is just the ticket, go for it. If you've got some steaks in the freezer from winter CSA and need some more, go ahead and match them.

In the spirit of this, I think Connor's Instagram post from last night is perfectly appropriate:

Yep, we're all in this together, yet free to make our own choices. It's what makes life good and makes America great! Post a comment to this post next week and let us know how your 4th of July grilling adventures turned out.

Keep being excellent to each other, and Happy Independence Day!

--Jesse