Meet CSA Members Lauren and Ryan!
Lauren and Ryan are newer members and an amazing addition to our CSA family. They are a kind, social, and locally minded pair.
Lauren works in healthcare and Ryan owns a graphic design business and in the winter he works selling skis to retailers. They both love to ski, mountain bike, get outside, and fly fish.
Both transplants to the state (Lauren from Vermont, Ryan from Colorado), they lived in Portland for over a decade before making their way over the mountains to Bend right as the pandemic shutdowns were beginning.
As Lauren puts it, “It was an interesting time to move to a new place where you couldn’t go anywhere.” Over time they adapted and are thoroughly enjoying the next chapter of their lives in the high desert.
JOIN DATE
2021
CSA PICKUP LOCATION
Bend
SHARE TYPE
10# Standard share
LEARNING ABOUT DOUBLE F RANCH Meat CSA
When Ryan and Lauren lived in Portland, they were a part of a vegetable CSA. Being familiar with the CSA model and wanting to continue to support local agriculture, Lauren began searching for one in Bend after they moved.
She had heard of meat CSAs before and decided to look into what options were available in the area to get access to local meat.
After coming across Double F Ranch’s pastured meat CSA, she joined the wait list. When Katia messaged to let them know the CSA was expanding to accommodate more people during the pandemic, they jumped at the opportunity to join.
COMMITMENT TO SUPPORTING LOCAL
Lauren grew up knowing what it meant to really live a local food lifestyle. Having lived in a small town in Vermont, she had experienced connections with local farmers to source food - they had a veggie CSA growing up, got their milk from the local dairy and bought maple syrup from the syrup place around the corner.
Being a part of the CSA allows them to embrace that local lifestyle now with their own family.
“Probably in college you kind of drift away from a lot of that and then you kind of come back to your roots of where your food comes from.
Oregon really nurtures that environment of trying to shop locally. So, it was a really easy transition.
We were always trying to be good at it. As best we can. And now we have more opportunities to do that.”
It is of equal importance to Ryan to have that connection to the community and one way to do that is by spending money locally and getting to know the producer.
“I think the biggest thing for me is - I’m a huge shop local sort of guy. Anytime we’re going to spend money on something, as long as it’s going to somebody local, that’s better.
It’s even better if we have a relationship with the ranchers. It’s been awesome. It’s all about keeping money in the community.”
CONNECTING TO YOUR FARMER
Connecting to the farmer who produces your food is key to feeling more connected to what you are eating. That trusting relationship is why so many stay in the CSA. Lauren and Ryan quickly felt like Nathan and Katia were paying attention to them personally and cared about them.
“You just feel like you’re not getting your meat from some generic place. That they are considering you as a person and what you like.
That’s really nice and an important part of why we do it.”
Ryan loves to make jerky and asked Katia about getting some London broil to make it. Katia was completely honest that she didn’t know much about that cut but said she would research it and get back to them.
And she did. She sent along a detailed email about how London broil is not a specific cut, but a cooking style that can use many different cuts - hence why she’d never gotten a cut labeled “London Broil” from the butcher (and why Ryan may have had trouble sourcing the same cut from the butcher shop). She recommended specific cuts that would be great for jerky-making.
“Katia didn’t look at me like I’m an idiot like most butchers do. She took the time to figure it out which was so thoughtful and we learned a lot.”
“They pick up all the little things. I think it just shows who they truly are. They truly care and are inspired by what they do. That’s perfect. That’s exactly who we want to support.”
Ryan really appreciates the way Nathan and Katia remember his favorite cuts. In particular, he loves the chuck eye steaks.
“It’s one of those lesser-known cuts. When I brought it up not too long ago, they both smiled.
When I see them show up in my share, it’s pretty awesome because there’s only two cuts on a single cow. That’s the thoughtfulness they have. So, I appreciate that. ”
Even in the beginning, Ryan saw a level of attention and detail in the way Double F Ranch communicates with CSA members.
“I remember one of the first emails we got from them was a video of Katia just introducing herself and the CSA.
Being somebody who’s on the marketing side of life, I was just blown away that they took the time, effort, and compassion to do something like that.
They had me at that - hook, line and sinker. ”
TOP CSA QUALITIES
Both Lauren and Ryan appreciate that the CSA provides support with ongoing emails about cooking various cuts and meal ideas.
“Tonight we slow cooked the big ham roast. I remember getting it and thinking, oh gosh, what am I gonna do with this giant piece of ham?
And in one of the emails, Katia mentioned slow cooking it in a few cups of apple juice then shredding it and using it for all sorts of things.
So that’s what we did tonight. We made Cuban style sandwiches and it was delicious.
”
Lauren loves how the CSA has pushed her as a cook:
“I really love to cook it’s kind of taken me a little bit out of my comfort zone with certain cuts of meat that I get. Ones which I would not have normally cooked.
It forces me to think outside of my box as well. What am I going to do with this? Let’s look for new recipes or ways that I could cook this style of meat. So that’s a new adventure for us.”
Both absolutely love the Community Support portion of the CSA and take to heart that they are voting with their dollar to show that they believe in the vision of Nathan and Katia.
“Getting to know them and seeing that this is their passion and that we can actually help them develop it. Our support helps them become the best ranchers they can be.”
Ryan is usually the one who picks up the CSA share every month. He enjoys spending time at the CSA pick-up visiting with Nathan and Katia, even if it is just about the weather.
“We can’t say enough good things about Nathan and Katia. The other thing I would mention about them is their positive attitude. You’re talking about the weather at CSA pickup, like the droughts and whatever ominous things are out there.
They are always saying, “oh yeah our family has been farming in this desert for decades, it’s no big deal to us.”
They are really positive about all that. It’s just refreshing. Makes you want to go help, you know. Like dig a ditch or whatever - just be out there with them. They are great people.
”
FAVORITE CUTS AND MEALS
Ryan is a huge fan of the CSA chorizo. In his words, “it should have its own hashtag!” Hmm…maybe #DFRChorizo!?
They think the tri-tip is especially tasty. Once when Lauren’s parents were visiting, they used their smoker to cook the tri-tip. It made such an impression on her parents that they next time they visited they specifically requested to have it again!
Other cuts they can’t live without:
Smoked ham
Steaks
Ground beef for burgers
Anything they can throw on the smoker!
Lauren loves using the whole chicken. This last winter she made a lot of:
Chicken soup
Matzo ball soup
Smoked whole chickens
She then saved the bones to make chicken broth for other dishes like risotto.
““It’s nice to be able to feel like you’re using an entire chicken rather than just stealing two wings in a party pack.” ”
FINAL THOUGHTS
“We always recommend it to our friends - get on the wait list! We really promote it to people because we so enjoy it and I think it’s been an enriching experience for us overall. ”
Thank you, Lauren and Ryan, for sharing your experience with the CSA! -Rachel