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🐟 2025 Off the Hook Fish Sale is live! Sea all the fin-tastic offers here βš“

12 + 😁 Reasons to Shop TF (aka Why You Are Above Average)

written by

Megan Kluge

posted on

January 6, 2022

If you're reading this, you're above average.

You may not realize it and if you do, well, it's still nice to be told how important you are because sometimes we forget how much our choices impact those around us....which impact the people around them and eventually ripple out to entire communities.....

So here is your reminder of how big a deal it is when you buy local and shop small with your Together Farm's friends (any time of the year - not just the holidays!).

In fact, I came up with the top 12 reasons + 1 fun bonus reason to shop local & small: 

  1. Our meat tastes better (especially the pork - heaven's to betsy I can't even smell the industrial stuff anymore. I'm ruined for life!)
  2. Our meat is better for you: nutrient-dense + bio-available! 
  3. Our animals are happier and have just one bad day instead of all bad days (plus those sad & stressed out hormones have to be impacting the health & wellness of the people eating them). 
  4. Our food is safe (from the butcher's freezer to our freezer to your freezer 1-2-3, no intercontinental travel required!). 
  5. You are supporting a small local family farm in addition to local family-owned butchers, shippers and many more (see last year's numbers). 
  6. It may surprise you to learn that a lot of the big meat players (Smithfield, Tyson) are now owned by China and the beef industry is a hot mess since vertical integration is a little more difficult but the control is still highly concentrated in the hands of a few who are in court for running a monopoly and stealing from farmers and consumers. Awesome. Every 1$ spent with us or a farm like us is $1 less supporting this con job.
  7. You are building community & creating local jobs.
  8. For every $100 you spend locally, $68 stays in the community (versus $43 at national chains, I bet this is even lower for the online conglomerates like amazon).​
  9. You are keeping your taxes down (cheap food has enormous costs that are just paid in different places) & keeping your sales tax in your community.
  10. You are supporting clean air & water. 
  11. You are supporting wildlife. 
  12. You are creating a sustainable future. 
  13. You are creating a destination (Burger Night specifically) that will draw in more above average people and create huge local benefits.
  14. You have a choice & are getting what you want! (We give you more of what you want and less of what you don't - although we still haven't cracked that 1 lb ground beef supply/demand need but gosh darnit we keep trying!)

Fun bonus: When you hit that "Place Your Order" button and the email comes through telling us we have a new order - Andy & I both smile, regardless of whatever might be going on around us....yes, even if we are sorting cattle and that one frickin' one keeps going the wrong way: Argh! πŸ€¬ Oh look! An order! πŸ˜

So I guess the big question now is what can we do for you? 

It's already December so that means some of you have been done with Christmas shopping for a few months now while others of us are just starting to realize we need to be thinking about lists. 

Once you start on those lists you'll undoubtedly come across those hard-to-buy for people who need nothing and really only want things with price tags containing commas so then you start to think about practical and useful gifts but getting them underwear would be super weird. πŸ©²

So, what do to, what to do??

Enter the gift of MEAT! πŸ₯©

Practical: everyone needs to eat. It fits every size.

Useful: we have great options for everyone from 13 different gift boxes to swag and gift cards!

Thoughtful: you've introduced them to a great little local farm (which they've been wanting to do themselves but didn't know where to start) or they already know & love TF and always want more! 

I can keep going but I think we hit all the high points you amazing life-saving, world-changing excellent-gift-giver you! 

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Available GIFT BOXES include: 

  • Bacon Me Crazy! 
  • Brat Lovers
  • Breakfast of Champions
  • BYOB: Build Your Own Burger
  • Game Day (pictured below)
  • The Dad Box (pictured above)
  • The Grandpa Box
  • Hot Hot Hot!! 
  • I Love Ewe! 
  • Snack Time! 
  • The Smokehouse
  • Whole Farm Delight

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To make your life even easier we can even overnight ship or deliver locally to the recipient on your behalf! 

Oh and I should probably mention that the gift boxes are not in a Christmas-only gift box but work for birthdays (I feel bad for those of you with birthdays around the holidays), housewarmings, whatever!

Have a really long list?? Please reach out if are interested in customizing or ordering gift boxes in bulk for clients, co-workers, etc by calling/texting 715-210-4740 or emailing togetherfarms@gmail.com (with any questions really). 

We've also got meal kits (make an especially great gift for new moms & people that hate cooking!), 100% grassfed/finished beef & lamb, pastured pork & chickengift cards (for meat now or use at Burger Night later) and even some swag for yourself! 

No matter what you give or where you are - have a very Merry Christmas!!

Steph


More from the blog

Off the Hook Fish Sale is LIVE! 🐟

Our 1st Annual Off the Hook Fish Sale is LIVE and it really is Off the Hook!! βš“It was exactly one year ago today that we announced a new partnership with Bering Bounty and let you know we had finally found some of the best food on the planet: Wild Alaskan fish.plus it's Lentplus a few of us just realized that we've been through 2 false springs already meaning real spring is pert near here and it's time to hurry up and lose some of that winter weight by eating clean high-protein and low fat (halibut).(Although a few others have decided this is the year the sweaters-in-summer fashion look sticks and we're eating all the Sablefish we want.)plus it's time to start getting really serious about Burger Night again so my ability to manage and run big sales like this will end 3/31 and then we'll all be waiting a long while before any more big sales come up. So: Anniversary + Lent + Weight Loss (or Maintenance πŸ˜‚) + Burger Night is coming (56 days!) = OFF THE HOOK FISH SALE!! We will definitely plan on doing this every March but one thing with the state of Alaska is they are very strict with their quotas in order to ensure sustainability so we never know how much fish Captain Mark will be able to reel in - some of these cuts may not always be available but we are super stoked that right now they all are!!Salmon Lovers Bundle - savings of 27% plus a BONUS 5% + FREE item if you're a subscriber! Includes: King, Sockeye, Coho + Pink Salmon all wild-caught and never-farmed from Alaska's Bering Sea.We have a lot of new people here so we'll do a quick re-introduction.Because I'm constantly keeping an eye out for the best products I can find for you guys I serendipitously stumbled upon Bering Bounty last winter and was soooo excited! I had been looking for a source of good Alaskan fish FOR YEARS but it was either crazy expensive, mostly unavailable or a logistical nightmare. But the coolest thing is that Captain Mark is a Wisconsin-ite with his own small fishing operation (so a ma & pa, like us!).He harvests wild salmon, halibut, and other fish in Alaska’s Bering Sea, which are immediately processed, vacuum-sealed and flash-frozen there and then brought back to his home state so we can all enjoy some of the world's best and cleanest protein!We are his most northern location so we drive to southern WI every other month or so to do our own re-stocking for you guys. Captain Mark & his pet Octopus (not really) battling Alaska's Bering Sea "the cradle of storms" to bring us the healthiest, cleanest and tastiest protein in the world! πŸŒŽ(and yes, even better than our 100% grassfed/finished organically raised beef since the best beef still can't beat the Omegas and other nutrients in Salmon and Sablefish.)What's included in the sale In an effort to live up to the name, we have some pretty off the hook deals ranging from a minimum of 10% off to almost 40% off! 😲 Subscribers (free to join, easy to leave) will even get a BONUS 5% off plus a FREE item for life so really it's 15 to nearly 45% off!! No pressure, I often don't make the best decisions with my (+ Andy's πŸ˜‰) money so I get it (note those percentages listed above πŸ˜‚) but if you like good fish at all, NOW is the BEST time to stock up and save! Available raw fish portions from Bering Bounty:  King Salmon portionsSockeye Salmon portionsCoho Salmon portionsPink Salmon portionsCod portionsHalibut portionsSablefish portions Like with the beef sale we think the star of the show is going to be the Sampler Bundle and we have 3 sizes to choose from:  1 of each fish (7 portions)2 of each fish4 of each fish: ships for free/reduced, the largest savings of all the deals at 38% off (before subscription savings are added) βœ¨In addition to the Sampler Bundles we also have the Salmon Lovers Bundle pictured above and a White Fish Lovers bundle which includes:  4 Cod2 Sablefish2 HalibutSave 30%!We even have a Buy 3, Get 1 FREE option for:  CodCohoSablefishKing Salmon CaviarMix and Match all your different favorites to get free/reduced shipping and stock your freezer!  Not only do we have Bering Bounty to bring us the best raw fish, but I also found Alaska Smokehouse so we also have a source of smoked fish!And, guess what? Smoked fish doesn't need refrigeration or special shipping so we even have a few bundles and a lot of products that can be shipped anywhere!!  Right now we only ship our frozen meats throughout the Midwest but smoked & tinned fish doesn't need any special shipping so we even have a few non-perishable bundles, spices, cookbooks and pet treats in our Off the Hook Fish Sale that can be shipped anywhere!For more info on how to do a work-around if our online store tells you we can't deliver to you, see this article. Sorry for the extra step, it's the best our software can offer at the moment and once it's set up, it's super easy! But, wait. There's more!  In addition to the raw fish and smoked fish we included a few more products in our Off the Hook Fish Sale: ButterSalt SeasoningsCookbooksDog & Cat Treats Obviously butter, salt and seasonings need to be included, what fun is fish without those??We are so happy to have also partnered with Nordic Creamery and we LOVE their butters. We just added their Pepper Butter (won the Gold last year πŸ₯‡) to our line-up, we'll see how it performs compared to our current best-seller, their Garlic Butter (won the silver last year πŸ₯ˆ). May as well try them all while they are on sale! Salt & seasonings....I mean salt is my favorite so we'll always have fun options there but check out some of our seasonings and sauces if you are ready to experiment and have some fun with all your fish! Scared that you are going to screw it up because you don't really know how to cook fish? 😬We've got cookbooks! And, as usual, we'll include some of our free recipe cards too or check out the fish-specific page on our website for cooking tips (Captain Mark prefers to cook straight from the freezer!) or our Recipe Page. We aren't the only ones that love fish - dogs and cats do too! 😺So we included some fun fishy treats for dogs & cats too, starting at just $2.70 - there's no reason to leave out our best friends! 🐢 We even have fishy-treats for our 4-legged friends!! (Lots more to choose from in the farm store if you can come visit!)I hope you’re as excited about our 1st Annual Off the Hook Fish Sale as I am!If you have any hesitation or questions, simply hit reply and ask away!Your farmer & a-fish-ionado friend, Stephanie Schneider

Herbs for Heart Health & Beyond

Your kitchen and backyard are full of powerful plant allies! Join us on February 22 at Together Farms for a hands-on class exploring common culinary herbs and backyard β€œweeds” that support heart health and overall wellness. πŸŒ±πŸ’“   🌟 In this class, you’ll discover:  πŸƒ Herbs that promote heart health, circulation, and vitality   πŸƒ Simple ways to incorporate healing plants into your daily routine   πŸƒ The hidden benefits of common "weeds" growing in your own backyard πŸƒ PLUS: Make & take home TWO herbal remedies to support your well-being!   πŸ“… Date: February 22, 1-2:30pm πŸ“ Location: Together Farms   🎟️ Tickets: $20 – Purchase in-person at Together Farms but RSVP is required (email togetherfarms@gmail.com) or purchase online at Temperance Herbals & Healing. Nourish your heart and body naturallyβ€”let’s explore herbal wellness together! πŸŒΏπŸ’š 

with customization by Grapevine Local Food Marketing