What if I told you you could get fresher, better quality meat that is cheaper than the grocery store from a truck in a church parking lot? Would you think I was a crazy lady?
The logistics sounded a bit odd to me, too, when I first heard of Zaycon Fresh, but now I’m hooked!
I’m still suffering from sticker shock from the meat prices here after for nearly five years of living in California. Even when we were in the Midwest where prices were much better, I never paid full price for very many things.
Needless to day, when I learned of another option for buying meat at a good price, I was all ears. Even if it meant picking it up from a truck in the parking lot of a church I had never been to before.
So what is Zaycon Fresh?
Zaycon Fresh is like a co-op for meat. They cut out the middle man so to speak.
In our country, at least the parts where I have lived, we’re pretty trained to feel comfortable buying groceries from a grocery store and nowhere else. Sure, some of us seasonally shop at farmers’ markets or grow our own food, by most Americans buy groceries almost exclusively from a brick and mortar store.
We don’t often think of the store as a middle man. Yet, that’s really what they are. I’m not complaining though. It’s suuuper convenient to be able to buy so many different products all in one place!
Having a middle man with lots of overhead like a grocery store has some downsides though. With all the logistics of transporting food, it’s not as fresh as what you get straight from the farm. Also, adding a middle man with lots of overhead significantly increases the price.
With Zaycon, you get fresher, higher quality meat for better prices than the grocery store. The only catch is that it’s only sold in bulk. For example the ground beef and boneless skinless chicken breasts that I just bought come in 40 pound boxes.
That might sound like an outrageous amount, but with a deep freeze or a friend or two to split the order with, the bulk amount becomes completely manageable.
How it works
With Zaycon, you need to be a member to get the deals, but it’s free to sign up. Once you go through the quick sign up process you’ll be able to browse the pickup locations and dates. You’ll get emails when different meat “events” are coming up. You’ll get coupon codes every now and then, too!
The event details include the pickup location, which is often a local church parking lot, and the pickup time, usually a 30 minute window of time. If that time doesn’t work for you, you can have a friend pick up your order.
When you find an event you’re interested in, you register for it. Payment is due at the time of registration, which is often a month or more before the event, though sometimes you can get into an event that’s coming up sooner if it’s not full yet.
When your event day rolls around be sure you have room in the fridge! You’ll also want to set aside some time that week to cook or package your meat for freezing.
The actual pickup couldn’t be simpler. You don’t even need to get out of your car! There will be some cones and signs in the parking lot to show you where to go. The friendly truck driver will ask you for your name and order number. He’ll get your order from his refrigerated truck and load it into your car. It seriously takes two minutes tops!
If for some reason you miss your pickup, you’ll get a refund or a credit. They are super easy to work with.
Zaycon is not for everyone
While Zaycon works great for our family, it might not be right for you.
If your budget is super tight right now, Zaycon isn’t for you. In order to start buying (anything) in bulk, you’ll need to have some wiggle room in your grocery budget. Once you’re in a place where you can stock up, you’ll find that it all evens out. While I may spend $100 on meat one month, I won’t need to buy meat again for another six months. That frees up money to stock up on apples from the local orchard when they’re in season, or buy peaches in bulk when I’m ready to do some canning.
If you eat exclusively certified organic meat, Zaycon isn’t for you. While their meat is humanely raised and processed in the United States, it isn’t certified organic. In my experience, I have found the quality to be impressive, better than what I would be buying at the grocery store (it even have my mother-in-law impressed!).
If you are single or have a small family and either don’t have a freezer or don’t have anyone to split an order with, Zaycon’s probably not for you. This one is pretty subjective and will depend on the way you “do food” at your house. I know some empty nesters who still buy and cook in bulk as if it’s the only way to go. Zaycon might still be a great option, even if you don’t have a big family, but it’s something to think about. You definitely don’t want that meat going to waste.
Why I Love Zaycon Fresh
While Zaycon isn’t for everyone, it works great for my family! Here are a few reasons I love buying meat through Zaycon Fresh.
I get better quality for less money— I’m buying fresh, high-quality meat for less than what I pay at the grocery store. That’s a big win for this frugal mama!
It’s super convenient— I can secure great prices from the comfort of home and don’t even have to get out of my car to get my order!
Buying in bulk saves time and money— Stocking my freezer means I don’t have to shop for meat very often. It’s one less department I have to go to at the store.
I first ordered from Zaycon last year. I wanted to be sure it met my awesomeness criteria before I wrote all about it. And let me tell you, it passes with flying colors! In a future post I’ll tell you what in the world I do with all that meat!
Want to try Zaycon?
If you’re new to Zaycon, go see if Zaycon is available in your area. If they are (hooray!), then sign up for a free account and see the upcoming events in your area.
How about you?
- Have you heard of or tried Zaycon Fresh? What was your experience?
- What would you do with 40 lbs of ground beef or 20 lbs of chicken breasts?
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I didn’t notice anyone talking about ground turkey. Here’s my input: DO NOT ORDER IT! Ours had small pieces of bones in at least 4 of the packages I tried. Additionally, the flavor was weird. Since I was reluctant to use it whenever I cooked for friends, or pretty much anytime, I finally threw out the rest. I had called about it and was told if I took a picture of the bones, I might get a refund. By the time I did that the refund time had passed.
The chicken was excellent the first time. The last shipment, I would rate “okay”.
I prefer the ground beef I get from a local farm.
I’ve never heard of this company until I read it in one of your blog entries and when we moved to the Pacific Northwest from NC. So thank you for saving my family and friends a lot of money, it’s worth every penny for the convenience and quality. We’ve never had a problem finding friends to “share” from our bulk orders ranging from chicken breast, chicken thighs, ground beef, ground turkey, pork tenderloin, bacon (which is the best we’ve ever had!), chuck roast, turkey roast, angus steaks (another delicious deal), hot dogs, and soon to try their salmon. I cut the chicken breasts in half and divvy up the bacon packages for more manageable servings before I vacuum seal them even further stretching my savings. I’ve never calculated our savings but I know it’s a lot…much appreciated by the hubby. I encourage those still on the fence to try this company, if you can…split the cost with a family member or neighbor to make it worthwhile. Use a coupon code if one’s available to take the sting out of paying up front, even if one’s not available it’s still worth it. Customer Service rocks too! Super nice and helpful.
We are picking our first order up in June – SO excited – I have heard nothing but good things about this company!!!
I think my brother orders from this company and really likes it. I’ll have to check it out!
If Zaycon ever opens up in my town I will definitely trying it. Right now closest one is 1 hour away.
I am vegetarian, but the rest of my family might be able to make use of this service. I will have to check into it. Thanks for the review 🙂
I’ve never heard this before so thanks for the reference. Buying protein products in bulk is a great idea because it’s often cheaper. This is one of those situations where I consider it, “spending money to save money.” This also helps for those people that don’t want to just eat rice, beans, and corn like Dave Ramsey recommends.
Just checked and there are 2(!!) locations near me. I’ll have to think about how to fit that much meat into my side-by-side. 🙂
We have ordered from Zaycon a couple of times and have no complaints about the quality or price. I would like to clarify a few things I’ve come to learn (I truly hate to come across as a negative nellie! So please don’t take this as bashing AT ALL. Zaycon is an amazing option for many people!) My husband works for the department of agriculture for our state so my information comes from him and his research. When I first ordered from Zaycon, I read “farm fresh”, and for some reason that led me to believe I was supporting John and Jane and their 5 kids all working together on the family farm. That was totally my assumption, nothing advertised. But in case anyone else is thinking the same thing, that is NOT what Zaycon is. Our first order was beef, and my husband said “this is the exact same beef you can get from our local butcher shop. They might cut you a deal for buying in bulk, too. It all comes from farms in Colorado or out west (we live on the east coast).” That was disheartening, as I’d rather support our small local butcher shop. Our next order was chicken. My husband noted that it came from the giant chicken processing plant in our area. So yes, Zaycon did cut out the middle man in that usually that plant sells to distributors who sell to the grocery stores; the downfall with the chicken is that our nearest Zaycon pickup is 30 minutes away. The chicken traveled from practically next door to 30 minutes away, where we drove to pick it up. It felt incredibly wasteful of (our) time and (our) resources/gas. From now on we will eat less meat and purchase directly from a local farmer as much as we can afford. As I said, this is NOT Zaycon bashing! I just thought that maybe other people have the same wrong assumptions I had, and I wanted to share what I’ve learned. If you have a Zaycon pickup near you, and can’t afford to pay the prices a local farmer charges (to support the John and Jane and 5 kids I mentioned earlier), Zaycon is a wonderful option for price and quality.