Our Ancestors' Foods

FAQs

📍 Where Are We Located?

Our Ancestors’ Foods is located in Cocoa, Florida, serving families throughout Brevard County and surrounding areas.

We are a family-owned farm focused on providing local, nutrient-dense, responsibly raised meat to our community. When you buy from us, you are supporting a Florida farm family, not a multinational corporation.

🛒 How Do I Place an Order?

Ordering is simple.

  1. Visit ourancestorsfoods.com and click on Products.
  2. Choose your meat box.
  3. Select your quantity.
  4. Choose One-Time Purchase or Subscribe and Save.
  5. Add to cart and follow the checkout prompts.

We currently ship within Florida only.

If you are unsure what size bundle is right for your family, reach out. We are happy to help you choose.

If your shipping address is outside Florida, checkout will not process. If you are outside Florida and would like to order, please contact us for an accurate shipping quote before placing your order.

Should You Choose One-Time Purchase or Subscription?

On the product page, you will see two options:

  • One-time purchase
  • Subscribe and Save

One-Time Order

If you prefer to order as needed, select the one-time purchase option. Add the box to your cart and proceed to checkout.

Subscription Option

If you want to lock in pricing and receive an exclusive subscriber discount, choose the subscription option.

Subscriptions are flexible and designed to work around your life. You can:

  • Pause
  • Skip a shipment
  • Move your delivery date
  • Cancel if needed

Subscriptions help you maintain a steady supply of local grass-fed beef and pasture-raised pork while helping us plan production more efficiently on the farm.

Checkout and Shipping

At checkout, enter your delivery address and select Economy Shipping.

We currently use Economy Shipping as our standard option.

If you need your order sooner, please contact us directly. Depending on your location and our delivery schedule, we may be able to move up your delivery date. Expedited shipping may be available and could incur an additional charge.

For subscriptions, you will also select Economy Shipping. After checkout, you can manage your future deliveries inside your customer portal.

Inside the portal, you can:

  • Adjust delivery dates
  • Delay shipments
  • Skip a cycle

If the portal feels confusing or you would rather speak to someone directly, we are always available to assist.

Why Ordering Direct Matters

When you order from Our Ancestors’ Foods, you are supporting a local farm in Cocoa, Florida that raises grass-fed beef and pasture-raised pork with care.

Even if you still shop at grocery stores for certain items, supplementing your household with local meat strengthens your community and supports small farms in Brevard County.

It also allows you to lock in pricing through subscriptions, which helps protect your food budget as farming costs continue to rise nationwide.

Subscriptions are flexible. You can pause, skip, adjust delivery dates, or cancel anytime inside your customer portal.

If you are unsure which box is right for your family, reach out and we are happy to help.

📦 How Are Beef & Pork Cuts Boxed?

Because we sell whole-animal shares and balanced boxes, what’s in each box reflects real cut percentages and variety rather than single cuts only.

🐄 Grass-Fed Beef Cut Breakdown

When you order a beef share (such as a 1/8 share), you receive a balanced assortment of cuts based on the animal’s total weight:

  • Steaks (Approx 20–25% of total weight)

    Includes cuts such as ribeye, New York strip, sirloin, and other premium steaks.
  • Roasts & Stew Cuts (Approx 30–35%)

    This can include chuck roast, rump roast, sirloin tip roast, and stew meat.
  • Ground Beef (Approx 40%)

    Perfect for burgers, tacos, meatballs, casseroles, and more.

💡 All beef is delivered vacuum sealed and frozen for freshness. You can request bones or organ meats at no extra charge if you’d like them included.

🐖 Pasture-Raised Pork Variety

Our pork boxes include a mix of cuts (actual amount depends on box size). Typical pork box contents may include:

  • Ground pork
  • Sausages (such as kielbasa, country, Italian)
  • Pork chops
  • Pork shoulder or roasts
  • Belly (when available)
  • Other cuts based on harvest and inventory

These varieties give you flexible meal options from breakfast to Sunday dinner.

🥩 Why Box Contents Vary

Because we work with whole animals and seasonal harvests:

  • Boxes are balanced based on animal size and cut percentages
  • Cuts vary slightly with each harvest
  • You get a mix of premium cuts, roasts, ground meat, and sausages

This approach lets us sell fairly, reduce waste, and offer the best overall value from our farm.

🥩 Why Can’t I Order À La Carte Cuts?

We focus on whole-animal utilization and sustainable farming practices.

Offering only individual premium cuts creates waste and imbalance. When you purchase a bundle or bulk option, you are helping us honor the entire animal.

This allows us to:

  • Keep prices stable
  • Reduce waste
  • Maintain responsible harvest schedules
  • Support long-term sustainability

From time to time we may offer limited individual cuts at farmers markets, but our primary model is bundles and bulk buying.

💰 Why Does Local Grass-Fed Beef Cost More Than Grocery Store Beef?

Industrial beef is mass-produced with feedlots, grain finishing, and government subsidies.

Our beef is raised very differently from industrial beef, and that difference takes time.

Most conventional beef in the U.S. is raised in feedlots and processed at 13–16 months of age after being rapidly fattened on grain. This system is designed for maximum speed and volume.

Our cattle are 100% grass-fed and grass-finished and raised for 22–26 months on pasture. Growing cattle naturally on grass takes longer, but it allows the animals to develop properly and results in better flavor, healthier fat composition, and a more natural life for the animal.

Local grass-fed beef reflects:

  • Responsible land stewardship
  • Humane raising practices
  • Small-scale farming
  • USDA-inspected processing
  • Fair wages
  • Real nutrition

You are paying for quality, transparency, and your local food system.

🌱 How Do We Raise Our Animals?

Our cattle are 100% grass-fed and grass-finished.

They are raised on open pasture in Florida, never confined to feedlots. They are not given routine antibiotics or growth hormones.

Our pigs are pasture-raised and allowed to root and forage naturally, supplemented appropriately for optimal nutrition and health.

We believe animals should live in alignment with how they were created to live. Healthier animals produce healthier meat.

🥩 What Meats Do We Offer?

At Our Ancestors’ Foods in Cocoa, Florida, we currently offer:

🐄 Grass-Fed & Grass-Finished Beef

Raised on pasture right here on our farm in Brevard County.

🐖 Pasture-Raised Pork

Humanely raised and allowed to forage the Cocoa farm naturally.

🐑 Lamb (Occasionally)

When available raised on our cocoa farm in limited seasonal quantities.

🐓 Chicken (Coming Soon)

We are clearing new space on the farm and preparing for future pasture-raised chicken. Stay tuned.

🔪 How Do We Process Our Meats?

Transparency matters.

  • Animals are harvested at a USDA-inspected facility
  • Cuts are processed according to detailed cut sheets
  • Meat is flash-frozen for freshness
  • Vacuum-sealed for quality and longevity
  • Stored in freezers on our property until distribution

Flash freezing locks in nutrients and freshness, so your meat tastes just as it should.

❄️ Is Your Meat Frozen?

Yes.

We flash-freeze our meat immediately after processing to preserve freshness, flavor, and nutrients. Properly stored, frozen meat maintains excellent quality for months.

🧊 How Should I Store My Meat?

Keep frozen at 0°F or below.

For best quality:

  • Ground beef and pork: 6–12 months
  • Steaks and roasts: up to 12 months

Always thaw in the refrigerator for best texture and safety.

*See our Bulk Beef Guides for how much storage is needed for beef shares.

🐄 Is Your Beef Grass-Finished?

Yes. Our cattle are 100% grass-fed and grass-finished.

They never receive grain.

If you come to one of our farm tours, we may use a piece of bread to lure the cows close for photos and interactions, but that's as close to grains as they get! One lucky cow will get the slice of bread on very rare occasion if they agree to get close enough.

👨‍🌾 Who Owns Our Ancestors’ Foods?

Our farm is family-owned and operated by the Calligaro family in Cocoa, Florida. Farming has been part of our family heritage for generations.

We believe in returning to ancestral methods of raising food the right way.

"Food as Nature Intends"

🗓 When Do You Restock?

Because we work on harvest cycles, restocks happen in batches.

We recommend:

  • Joining our email list
  • Following us on social media
  • Ordering when inventory is available

Once a batch sells out, it may be several weeks before restock.

🤔 Is Buying in Bulk Worth It?

For most families, yes.

Bulk buying:

  • Lowers your cost per pound
  • Reduces grocery store trips
  • Ensures you always have clean protein on hand
  • Supports whole-animal sustainability

🥩 Do You Sell Organ Meats?

Yes! But availability varies by harvest. We have products for organs and bones on our website.

If you are looking for liver, heart, or other organ meats, contact us directly to check availability.

📅 Can I Visit the Farm?

We occasionally host events or farm visits.

Follow us for announcements. We love connecting our customers to where their food comes from.

📦 Do You Offer Substitutions?

Our boxes are thoughtfully curated to provide variety and value, and we do not offer full custom substitutions at this time.

However, if there is a specific cut you do not prefer, please let us know when placing your order. We will do our best to accommodate reasonable requests when inventory allows.

If you are hoping for a certain cut in your box, feel free to reach out before ordering. We are happy to let you know what is currently available and whether we can make an adjustment.

Because we are a small family farm in Cocoa, Florida, availability depends on the animal and our current inventory. We appreciate your flexibility and will always do our best to serve you well.

🤠Still Need Some Answers? Ask Us Your Questions: