I find that meats and fish are quite expensive. Where are good places to buy this stuff that's better priced than the supermarket? i don't mind a drive out to the country I have a huge freezer and a vacuum sealer.. bring it on!

Well, if you are looking for "legitimate" sources of "cheap" meats, fish and the like then the cheapest everyday prices i've seen for quality stuff tend to be Costco IMO. My local SuperStore will have cheap stuff too, especially when they have coupons involved.

The other way of doing this is to have friends who hunt and/or fish and you get it that way. Or know some band members and you can get tons of fish for real cheap.

Perhaps try a public market if there is one in your area! I prefer to do my fresh produce/meat/fruit/bread shopping at such a place.. not sure if it is always cheaper - might want to do a comparision on that - but it is usually fresher!

http://gvanv.com/SLM/

hi Karen,

have you tried the St Lawrence Market by Front and Jarvis Streets in Toronto?

Karenmaraj with the way beef prices are on the hoof don't expect to get a deal "in the country". Prices are high due to the drought out west, you are probably better off to buy from a butcher. We raised beef up until almost a year ago. Figure roughly $2.00 per pound for a side of beef weighing in at about 300 lbs which will fill a large chest freezer to the brim. All cuts are done to your specifications which makes it convenient and economical IMO. If you only need 2 pound roasts then that is what you order. In my case I now need 6 pound roasts! :O In a side of beef you get all cuts as well...

For produce try a wholesaler in your area. My hubby is a produce buyer for a wholesaler and they sell to anyone who walks into the warehouse.

I guess maybe I worded the question wrong. Is it possible to go to the source? like the farm? how do I find wholesalers that sell to the public? Does anyone know of any inthe GTA vicinity? I of course have access to costco, buy all my boneless skinless chicken breast there.

maple lodge farms has a processing plant (chicken only, i think) northwest of mississauga, and they do have an "outlet" open to the public. i've seen ads for it in the local paper but have never been there, so i don't really have any other information...

I've been there, the store is called "Greenhouse Country Market" and it's on Winston Churchill Blvd about a hundred metres north of Steeles on the east side.

Go there only for chicken, they have no beef or fish. I often buy a five kilogram bag of boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $45. You can do better than this at some grocery stores when it goes on sale, but this is regular price there. They have all the other chicken parts too, boneless and/or skinless and/or not.

They're open 7 days a week. They only take cash or Interac.

(905) 454-5388
8175 Winston Churchill

You *could* go to the farm to buy beef but as I said it's cheaper to buy from the butcher right now. If I had to pay $1 or more per pound for a 500-700 pound weaned calf and still had to put another 500-700 ponds on it before it heads to the slaughter house I am going to charge more than $2 per pound... At pretty much any full service butcher you can buy a side of beef for about $2 a pound.

For a produce wholesaler check your phonebook. I know a few in TO but not knowing what area you are in...

All that said I really think the key in all of this is to buy in bulk when its on sale. I put a 300+ side of beef in the freezer every year then we watch flyers. When something is a good deal I buy in bulk. For example starting tomorrow No Frills has whole chickens for $1 per pound. I am going to get 6 or 8 for the freezer. A few weeks ago they had bulk bags of breaded chicken cutlets for $10, we bought 3 bags. I do this all year long.

I go to a Butcher (The Butchers) on Younge between Eglinton and Lawrence (across from the spoting life)

The meat is exceptional. It is organically raise so it isn't cheap, but Iwouldn't say it is more expensive than a grocery store, but the quality is far superior.