Grass Roots Farmer’s Cooperative vs ButcherBox (2023 Update)

Last Updated On: April 19, 2023

Being a huge carnivore, I’ve made it my mission to try out each meat delivery service available on the market.

So far, I’ve tried and tested countless meat delivery services, and today I’ll talk about Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative and ButcherBox.

I’ll explain their main features and how they differ so that you can choose the best meat delivery service for you.

ButcherBox vs Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative: Key Differences

The main difference between Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative and ButcherBox is that with ButcherBox, you get pre-selected boxes with meat, while with Grass Roots Farmers, you can hand-pick each cut of meat you want.

ButcherBox is a meat delivery service, which means you subscribe to their website and get a box of meat delivered to your doorstep every month.

On the other hand, Grass Roots Farmers Cooperative doesn’t have any pre-selected boxes of meat you subscribe to.

Instead, you can choose between their meat offering and order as many or as few pieces as you want.

Another difference between Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative and ButcherBox is that ButcherBox isn’t a farm but is a business that sources its meat from farms and ranches.

Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative is a group of farms that sell their meat directly on the website.

Comparing Their Features Head to Head

Here's a description of all features these online meat delivery services have.

1. Meat Selection

Both Grass Roots Farmers' Cooperative and ButcherBox have a similar meat offering.

Grass Roots Farmers' Cooperative

Grass Roots Farmers' Cooperative meat company offers cuts of beef, pork, lamb, poultry, and sausage. They don't have any salmon.

Here's an example of their beef offering:

Ground beef
Hamburger patties
Ribeye
Sirloin steak
New York steak

Their pork offering includes:

Breakfast sausage
Polish sausage
Smoked charcuterie ham

Their lamb cuts of meat include:

Lamb chops
Ground lamb
Leg of lamb boneless and bone-in
Lamb stew meat

Finally, Grass Roots Farmers' poultry offering includes whole chicken or its parts and turkey wings.

They also have seasonal offerings available during certain times of the year. These include:

Chuck roast
Short ribs
Loin roast
Pork chorizo
Pork shoulder roast

ButcherBox

ButcherBox's meat selection includes beef, pork, chicken, and seafood. They don't offer turkeys or other kinds of poultry. Same as Grass Roots Farmers' Cooperative, they don't offer cured meats.

They've grown their meat selection over time, and some of their most popular menu options include:

New York strip steaks
Sirloin
Ground beef
Boneless pork loin chops
Ribeyes
Sausages
Salmon

Here's a breakdown of all their boxes:

Custom box — You can choose up to 25 cuts of meat yourself. This is their most customizable box. It comes in two options:
1. 9 to 14 lbs $159
2. 18 to 26 lbs $288
Mixed box — A selection of beef, pork, and chicken.
Two meat boxes — meat and chicken or pork
All-beef box

Mixed, two kinds of meat boxes, and all-beef box, all come in two versions:

8 to 11 lbs $159
16 to 22 lbs $253

2. Sourcing

Here’s how these meat delivery services source their meat.

Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative

I mentioned that Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative is a group of farms that sell their products. They raise their animals in natural conditions without using any antibiotics or hormones [1].

“All of our meats are raised outdoors by thoughtful farmers, hand-cut, processed, and frozen at the peak of freshness by us while being tracked every step of the way. We’re fully committed to animal welfare and the quality of our final product; we’re the first and only farmers in the country using consumer-facing blockchain technology for ultimate traceability.”
- Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative Official Website

Here’s how Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative raise their animals:

Beef and lamb — Humanely raised on pastures. They graze on non-GMO pastures and spend their days in the fresh air.
Pork — Forested pork is raised in forested areas, where they root and wallow. Pigs eat acorns, mosses, and bramble, plus a GMO-free ration of corn, soy, and oats.
Pastured Poultry — Raised in the fresh air and allowed to roam. They eat grubs, seeds, legumes, plus a GMO-free ration of corn, soy, and oats. This ensures the pasture-raised poultry is full of vitamins and minerals.

Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative has a complete list of all farms they work with, so you’ll know exactly where your meat comes from.

ButcherBox

Apart from their meat flavor, one of my favorite things about ButcherBox is how open and detailed they are about their sourcing practices. All of their meat is ethically sourced from small farms or ranches.

Here’s how they source their meat:

Beef — Grass-fed and grass-finished. Their cattle are grown in pastures and are never given hormones or steroids. The majority of their beef comes from Australia [2].
Pork — Raised crate-free. Many of their pork cuts are raised from ancient breeds, such as Duroc, Berkshire, and Chester White. Thanks to this, the pork has a slower maturation process and develops better marbling.
Chicken — Raised without cages or crates, USDA Certified Organic, and animal welfare approved.
Seafood — Wild-caught and sustainably harvested. They offer salmon, scallops, lobster, cod, and halibut.

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3. Shipping and Delivery

Here’s how these meat delivery services ship and pack their meat.

Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative

Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative doesn’t offer free shipping unless you spend $120. If you don’t spend this much, they have a flat shipping fee of $25. They ship to all US states except Alaska and Hawaii.

You’ll receive frozen meat packed in 100% biodegradable boxes. The box is recyclable and compostable.

The meat is individually wrapped in vacuum-sealed packages and packed with dry ice. This keeps the meat cold, and you don’t have to worry; it’ll thaw if you aren’t at home for delivery.

Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative ships their boxes via FedEx Monday through Friday. I received my box two days after placing the order.

Also, you’ll receive an email with tracking information as soon as you place your order.

ButcherBox

Here’s how online ordering functions on the ButcherBox website.

ButcherBox has free delivery on all orders. They also deliver across the US except for Hawaii and Alaska. When you place your order, you’ll get an email with tracking information and another one confirming the delivery.

The meat is packed in a 100% recyclable cardboard insulated box. Each cut of meat is packed in vacuum-sealed packages with dry ice so that it doesn’t thaw.

ButcherBox allows you to choose delivery frequency — every four, six, or eight weeks.

They say you’ll receive your first order in three to seven days, which I found to be true. My box arrived after three days, and they were consistent every month.

Stand Out Features

ButcherBox has one stand-out feature that I liked — you can order gift boxes.

These include holiday boxes, such as St. Patrick’s Day and Celebration Box, or boxes with special cuts of meat, such as New Products Box or Chickens Sampler.

These are a great gift for your meat-lover friend or when you get tired of the same cuts of meat and want to try something new.

Related Articles:

ButcherBox vs Grass Roots Farmers’ Cooperative: Which Option Is Better?

Both of these are among the best meat delivery services for ordering meat online. They function as butcher shops, but they do things differently, and my vote goes to ButcherBox.

ButcherBox wowed me with the meat quality. They have some of the best meat I’ve ever tried.

I like how open and detailed they are about their sourcing practices, so you know your meat comes from a small farm and is sustainably raised.

Finally, they have free shipping on all products so it doesn’t get much better than that.

Click here, order one of their boxes today, and enjoy eating good meat.

#1 Meat Delivery Service

ButcherBox