I am privileged to introduce you to Heather. Heather, her husband, two kids, and Rosie the dog live in beautiful Southeast Portland. Heather’s agricultural background runs deep, having grown up on a dairy farm in Saskatchewan, Canada.

During her time in British Columbia for college, she met her wonderful husband who was from Portland. After graduation, she had many life paths before her, and ultimately decided to pursue marketing for her career and fulfill the desire to live in the big city. So, 15 years ago she began her life in Oregon.

Heather and her family are strongly committed to supporting local farmers not only through the Double F Ranch Meat CSA but also through a local vegetable CSA. The family enjoys cooking together and are masters of meal planning and prepping.

Join Date

2015

CSA Pickup Location

Portland pick-up site

Share Type

10# with lamb

In Search of Quality

When you grow up on a farm there are certain aspects to which you become accustomed. Particularly, seeing up close and personal how your food is grown or raised. How then do you maintain that connection when you are no longer living on a farm? Community Supported Agriculture bridges the gap, and the CSA model is what Heather found herself searching for after moving to Portland.

Connecting With Double F Ranch

Heather first heard about the CSA through her boss at work. They shared a strong interest in cooking and spent time discussing what they were making at home. Tales of the meat her boss was putting on the smoker and cooking up prompted the question, “Where do you get your meat?”

From that point there was no hesitation about joining Double F Ranch Meat CSA.

Meat Club

Stretching back to when Heather first joined the CSA, there was a running joke between Heather, her boss and other coworkers who had also joined:

“Are you going to Meat Club?”

The Meat Club moniker became synonymous with Heather darting out a little early from work once a month to pick up her CSA share and to enjoy the pre-covid social time with drinks and appetizers.

In a funny stroke of happenstance, Heather saw one of her former coworkers at a gathering recently in which she was greeted with, “I am in your Meat Club now!”

Honoring Her Agricultural Roots

Supporting a multi-generational farm just made sense to Heather. Her deep connection to farming and her understanding of the rigorous life of farmers is why she has such a strong respect for the hard work that Nathan and Katia do in order to run the farm.

She has passed on that knowledge and understanding to her own family through involvement in the CSA. Including her kids in the conversation about where their meat comes from and who their farmer is.

Spreading The Word

She is an outspoken advocate for the CSA and is directly responsible for many members joining throughout the years. She is encouraging and resourceful, using word of mouth to bring others to “Meat Club”. She finds ways to connect with friends in the CSA, sharing tips and brainstorming meal plans with various cuts.

Heather has noticed that when people join her family for dinner, they always comment on the quality of the meat and she is quick to tell them where it came from.

A Family That Cooks Together

If you have ever seen the beef liver or heart in the CSA Online Store, and wondered, “Who is buying this?” Well, Heather buys it when her parents are visiting. One of the joys of having CSA meat is that Heather gets to share it with her parents as a way of remembering childhood when her family would use the whole cow.

Her parents, like Heather, understand what quality meat tastes like. They rave about how good the CSA meat is and relish in hearing about Double F Ranch.

In keeping with tradition, Heather is passing on her cooking knowledge to her children and her family is actively involved in preparing and cooking meals together.

Food Prep Master

Heather and her husband are busy working professionals who value their food but also their family time. She has stated that, “I always feel like I am constantly working towards dinner being cooked in 15 minutes.” Especially on busy workdays. In order to accomplish this, she has become a well-organized and creative meal planner.

Heather sets aside time once a month after the CSA pick-up to prepare and freeze meals for the month. Some of her go to staple freezer meals are:

• Taco meat with veggies added to help bulk it up

• Spaghetti meat and sauce

• Meatballs

• Sausage Gravy

• Meatloaf

• Meat pies

• Smoked whole chicken with the meat parceled out

One of her families’ favorite cuts is Pork Chops which they prepare one of two ways:

• Slow cooked until the meat falls apart

• Hoard several packages and then put them on the smoker.

Heather uses a vegetable meal kit service to help with meal planning and finds it to be a great addition to her kitchen. Prep the veggies the night before, add in some chopped, smoked pork chops, sausage, or prepared chicken and the meal is not only quick and efficient but filling and enjoyable.

Heather believes having a Food Saver vacuum sealer is a must have for meal prep and freezing.

Final Thoughts

The CSA experience has brought value and purpose to her family and cooking. She believes in the potential for the CSA to do the same for other families. So when posed with the question, “Who do you think would be a good fit for the Double F Ranch CSA? She responded:

Heather looks forward to the day when we can get back to more “Meat Club” activities like visiting, enjoying the appetizer spread, and drinks with one another.

Heather will continue to be a strong supporter of the CSA for years to come.

Thank you, Heather, for sharing your CSA experience and wisdom with us! -Rachel