By Morris Malakoff, JTNews Correspondent
Finding fresh kosher meat and dairy products in the Puget Sound area is about to get a bit easier. It seems a viable alternative to less-than-fresh meat and expensive, rapidly-aging Cholov Yisroel products is on its way.
For those seeking a different source of meat products, Lyle Stanley, a southwestern Washington area farmer, is expanding the reach of the NW Kosher cooperative he operates.
The co-op began nearly a decade ago in the Portland, Oregon area, when a group of families was having trouble finding acceptable meat products. The families began ordering from a packing house in the Midwest, but problems of logistics quickly overtook the operation. That’s when Stanley was asked to step up and put a viable business model into place.
“We had problems with deliveries arriving on Friday evening or having a freezer large enough for the orders, which come on pallets,” he said. “Now, I have arranged for commercial storage, and deliveries are handled at the facility.”
Still, Stanley has just 24 hours to check the product in. He then prepares it for the orders he has received over the co-op Web site by flash-freezing it and packaging it. Then he arranges to deliver the product.
The operation has served not only families, but has also become a source for commercial and institutional facilities such as hotels and youth camps.
Beginning this month, Stanley will be making a monthly trip to Seattle to service local families. He will distribute orders at the site of the Columbia City Farmer’s Market parking lot, 4801 Rainier Ave. S.
Stanley advises potential customers to carefully read the instructions on his Web site, which offers hundreds of different cuts of beef, chicken, lamb, duck, turkey, bison, and veal. Coming soon are venison and elk. The site also offers an assortment of cheeses, fish, deli products and even frozen pizza.
Not all cuts shown are available at all times, and non-Glatt meats are not available to Seattle-area customers under the agreement allowing sales by the co-op in Seattle.
The order process can be tricky as well, because prices depend upon market forces.
“We take a deposit via PayPal,” said Stanley. “But the price one sees for meats is an estimate. The reality is that the price changes with volume and market forces.”
The site offers a full explanation and customers are asked to agree to those terms.
“The meat comes fresh in large amounts and then is sold in the packages listed,” he said. Stanley did say that prices could drop considerably, as more families buy and increase the size of his bulk orders, which are also distributed in Oregon and Arizona. Many of the meats come in institutional-sized packages.
“We encourage families to go in together on a purchase and then divide it up,” he said. “But for many families, a large amount of chicken, for instance, goes rapidly, especially if they cook a few ahead to get them through Shabbos.”
NW Kosher does offer a “combo pack” that sells for approximately $115 and contains an assortment of beef, chicken and turkey.
“The servings are reasonable,” said Stanley. “They are probably closer to what people should be eating in a meal.”
The Web site has a chart of ordering deadlines and delivery dates, with the next scheduled cycle requiring orders to be placed by March 30 for April 14 delivery.
Stanley does not sell products on-site as part of his agreement with the Va’ad to not do retail sales. Rabbi Moshe Kletenik, who serves on the board of the Va’ad, said that the kosher-certifying organization has not endorsed or set up official agreements with NW Kosher, but added that “the rabbis are aware of the enterprise and have no objection to what is being done.”
As for dairy products, Stanley is working with area rabbis in Seattle and Portland on getting locally produced Cholov Yisroel products — dairy goods supervised by a rabbi during the time the animal is being milked — to market. Currently, those products tend to come from Wisconsin and are expensive due to shipping costs, and often arrive near their expiration dates.
A dairy in Oregon has been certified to produce Cholov Yisroel, and, as of this month, is ready to begin sending milk to store shelves.
“Initially the milk will be available at the Mercer Island Albertson’s and the University [Village] QFC in North Seattle,” Stanley said. “They should be on store shelves by mid-March.”
The products will carry the NW Kosher label.
“We are hoping to see other dairy products such as yogurt come on-line soon,” he said.
Stanley also said that he is hoping that more stores will carry the product.
“It should be as much as $2 a gallon cheaper than it currently sells for, and it should have a reasonable shelf life,” he said.
To sign up and order from the NW Kosher co-op, visit www.nwkosher.com. The next order deadline is March 30 for April 14 delivery.