If you want to eat better-quality meat but don’t have the space to raise all of your own animals, I want to tell you something: you have more options than you probably think.

We live on a half-acre, so I’m not exactly in a position to raise a steer in my backyard and fill my freezer with beef. 😂 But that doesn’t mean I have to buy all of our meat at the grocery store.

Over the years, we’ve found several ways to fill our freezer with high-quality meat while keeping costs reasonable.

Whenever it comes to homesteading, gardening, or food, I like to think in terms of good, better, and best.

Because wherever you are in your homesteading journey, there is a place to start.

You don’t have to wait until you have 20 acres, a barn, and every farm animal under the sun.

If you can’t raise a cow in your backyard, that doesn’t mean you should do nothing.

Here are three ways we buy high-quality meat without raising every animal ourselves.

1. GOOD: Buy Meat in Bulk

If you’re just getting started and want to save money on meat, buying in bulk is one of the easiest places to start.

You don’t necessarily have to find a farmer or raise anything yourself.

You can start at your regular grocery store.

Instead of buying the smaller packages of meat, look for the larger family packs. You’ll usually get a better price per pound, and when you get home, you can divide the meat into portions that work for your family.

For example, I love cooking with chicken thighs.

Instead of buying several small packages, I’ll buy a large family pack and then portion it out at home. You can put the portions into freezer bags or use a vacuum sealer if you have one.

Now you have exactly what you need for future meals, and you’re paying less per pound.

Buy the whole animal—or at least a larger portion of it

Another way to save money is to buy a larger portion of the animal.

For example, I will buy whole chickens rather than purchasing chicken breasts, wings, and thighs separately.

A whole chicken is generally going to give you a better price per pound than buying individual cuts.

I’ll roast a whole chicken and use the meat for several different meals. You can also break the chickens down yourself and freeze the breasts, wings, thighs, and other pieces separately.

It’s a little more work on the front end, but it can save you money over time.

Costco can be a great option

Costco is another place I use for buying meat in bulk.

I particularly like buying their chicken because it’s already portioned into individual packages. I can take one package out of the freezer, thaw it, and use it for a meal without having to deal with a giant block of frozen chicken.

And because I’m buying in bulk, the price per pound is much better than buying smaller packages.

At the time I filmed this, the Costco chicken I had in my freezer was $2.99 per pound, which I thought was a really good price.

Buying in bulk does mean spending more money upfront, but if it’s meat you know your family will use, you’re saving money over time.

And there’s something really satisfying about opening your freezer and seeing food sitting there waiting for you.

2. BETTER: Buy Meat Directly From a Farmer

The next step up for me is purchasing meat directly from the person who raised the animal.

Instead of buying your meat from the grocery store, find someone in your area who raises chickens, beef, pork, or other livestock.

This is one of my favorite ways to get better-quality meat at a better price.

For example, I recently purchased half of a pig.

Because I’m purchasing a large portion of the animal, I’m getting a much better price per pound than I would if I purchased all of those individual cuts at the grocery store.

And I’m getting everything from that animal.

I’ll get pork chops, ham, ground pork, roasts, and bacon.

And let’s be honest—bacon is expensive!

So getting bacon at the same bulk price as the rest of my pork is a huge benefit.

How to Find Local Farmers Who Sell Meat

If you don’t know where to find farmers who sell meat directly to consumers, start with Facebook.

I know social media can be frustrating. Sometimes it feels like it’s designed to suck you in and steal an hour of your life.

But it can also be an amazing tool for connecting with people you would have never met otherwise.

Look for local homesteading, farming, livestock, or community groups.

You can search within those groups for words like:

• pork
• pigs
• beef
• cattle
• chicken
• meat
• farm
• butcher

Or simply make a post asking if anyone knows a local farmer selling meat.

That’s actually how I found the person I’m purchasing my pork from.

You may not find someone immediately. It might take a few weeks or even a few months. You may have to wait for the animal to be ready.

But once you find a good farmer, you’ve made a connection that can be valuable for years.

We bought our pork from the same person for years until they eventually sold their operation. Now we’ve connected with someone new through Facebook.

That’s one of the things I love about this lifestyle. You start building relationships with the people who are actually producing your food.

Don’t Forget the Butcher

When you purchase an animal directly from a farmer, you’ll typically have to work with a butcher to have the animal processed.

There are a couple of different ways this can work.

Sometimes a butcher works with local farmers who bring in, and you can purchase directly through the butcher.

Other times, you find the farmer yourself, purchase the animal from them, and then pay the butcher separately for processing.

Make sure you understand what you’re paying for because the price of the animal and the butcher’s processing fees may be separate.

But one of my favorite parts of buying an animal this way is that you get to choose how it’s processed.

For example, the butcher I use typically makes certain portions of pork into brats and chorizo.

We don’t eat a lot of either one.

So instead, I can have those portions turned into ground pork.

I do want pork roasts. I want hams. I want bacon.

And if you don’t like ham, you don’t have to order ham!

You can work with the butcher to have the animal cut and wrapped in a way that actually makes sense for your family.

That’s a huge advantage over simply buying whatever cuts happen to be sitting in the grocery store case.

3. BEST: Raise the Animal Somewhere Else

This is where things get really interesting.

Just because you don’t have enough land to raise your own meat animals doesn’t mean you can’t raise them.

You may just need to think outside your own property.

For example, my father-in-law has acreage, and he raises a steer for us every year.

I don’t have enough land on my half-acre property to raise a steer, but he does.

So we have a situation where he has the land and resources, and I get access to incredible beef for my family.

We still work with the butcher and get to choose how the beef is cut and wrapped.

That’s a pretty great arrangement.

Find Someone With Land

If you don’t have acreage, think about who you know who does.

Maybe a family member has extra pasture.

Maybe a friend has land they’re not currently using.

Maybe someone would be willing to let you lease a small portion of their property.

Or maybe you could go in together with another family to raise animals.

You could work out an arrangement in which one person provides the land, another provides some of the labor, and everyone shares the meat.

Obviously, the details will depend on the animal, the land, local regulations, and the people involved.

But don’t automatically assume that “I live on a small lot” means “I can’t raise my own meat.”

Sometimes you just need to get creative.

You Can Also Start Small

If you do have a little bit of space, you don’t necessarily have to jump straight into raising livestock.

This year, I’m planning to raise meat birds.

For me, meat chickens are one of the easier animals to raise because I can put them out on the grass in a chicken tractor and move them around.

That’s very different from putting a hog on my half-acre and watching it destroy my grass. 😂

Depending on your situation, meat chickens or rabbits may be a good place to start.

You don’t need to raise everything.

Even raising some of your family’s meat can make a difference.

The One Thing You Need: Freezer Space

There is one downside to buying meat in bulk or purchasing an entire or half animal:

You need somewhere to put it.

This is my big freezer in the basement, and as you can see, it holds a lot of meat.

A freezer like this does require an investment, and you’ll need the space for it.

You could also consider splitting a bulk purchase with another family if you don’t have enough freezer space—or if the upfront cost is too much.

But there is something I can’t really explain until you’ve experienced it:

There is an incredible sense of security that comes from having a freezer full of food.

Knowing that I have meat for my family sitting downstairs means I don’t have to run to the grocery store every time I need to make dinner.

And if meat prices suddenly go up, I’m not immediately affected because I’ve already purchased what I need.

You Don’t Have to Raise Everything Yourself

I think sometimes we get caught up in the idea that if we’re going to be “homesteaders,” we have to produce everything ourselves.

You need to grow all your vegetables.

Raise all your meat.

Milk your own cow.

Bake everything from scratch.

Preserve everything.

And somehow do all of this while raising your kids and keeping up with everything else life throws at you.

That’s just not realistic for most of us.

The goal isn’t necessarily to do everything.

The goal is to become a little more self-sufficient wherever you can.

For us, that means we buy some meat in bulk.

We purchase meat directly from farmers.

We have family members raise animals for us.

I raise some of our own food when I can.

And I have a dairy cow through a cow-share arrangement where the cow actually lives on someone else’s property.

It’s about finding creative ways to build the food system that works for your family.

Three Ways to Fill Your Freezer With Better Meat

So if you don’t have enough land to raise all of your own meat, remember these three options:

Good: Buy meat in bulk from the grocery store and portion it yourself.

Better: Purchase meat directly from a local farmer and buy an entire or half animal.

Best: Find someone with land who can help you raise the animals—or raise them for you.

You don’t have to live on a huge farm to have access to high-quality meat.

You don’t have to raise a cow in your backyard.

And you don’t have to buy every package of meat at the grocery store.

Start where you are.

Buy a family pack instead of the small package.

Find a local farmer.

Join a Facebook group.

Ask around.

Invest in a freezer.

Raise a few meat birds if you have the space.

And slowly start building your own food system.

The more you do this, the more you’ll learn—not just about raising animals, but about cooking, preserving, storing food, buying in bulk, and making the most of what you have.

That’s really what homesteading is about to me.

You don’t have to do everything.

You just have to start somewhere.

And even if you only have a half-acre, you can still fill your freezer with amazing, high-quality meat.