Anyone Need Raw Food in GA?

[scarletlucy]

I live in Norcross, GA (behind the Forum, for those of you who know the area). I am about to join a co-op type program through a recycling company where I would become a "vendor" for a particular Wal-Mart store in my area, thus allowing me to obtain, for a nominal fee, ALL of the expired meat that comes out of that store every month.

I only need about 100lbs of meat a month; however, I have to take it all, and the store I chose (the Wal-Mart in Duluth, GA) has one of the highest volumes of expired meat in GA!! I just found out last night that I would be getting around 2,800 lbs of meat a month!! YIKES!!!

I already have two other parties interested in teaming with me to share the load. The fee I have to pay is $100/month, and I plan on dividing it equally amongst 10 or more people. So, if you live close enough to where you think it would be worth it, you will basically be getting all the meat your animals would need for around $10/month!

I am excited about this program, seeing as I am helping to keep this meat out of landfills by feeding it to my dogs. I just hope that I can find enough people in my area that are interested in helping take some of it!!

If anyone knows of any rescues or shelters that raw feed in the North Georgia area, let me know! I will donate all excess to them!

If you have any questions or concerns, or you want more info about the program (it is nationwide, so I can pass this info along to anyone interested in doing this themselves!), please feel free to email me and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have!

I have a week to find some people (that is when they are sending me the contract - then it is a 2-year committment!).

Thanks,
Steph

[EnglishBullTerriers]

I live in Norcross, GA (behind the Forum, for those of you who know the area). I am about to join a co-op type program through a recycling company where I would become a "vendor" for a particular Wal-Mart store in my area, thus allowing me to obtain, for a nominal fee, ALL of the expired meat that comes out of that store every month.

I only need about 100lbs of meat a month; however, I have to take it all, and the store I chose (the Wal-Mart in Duluth, GA) has one of the highest volumes of expired meat in GA!! I just found out last night that I would be getting around 2,800 lbs of meat a month!! YIKES!!!

I already have two other parties interested in teaming with me to share the load. The fee I have to pay is $100/month, and I plan on dividing it equally amongst 10 or more people. So, if you live close enough to where you think it would be worth it, you will basically be getting all the meat your animals would need for around $10/month!

I am excited about this program, seeing as I am helping to keep this meat out of landfills by feeding it to my dogs. I just hope that I can find enough people in my area that are interested in helping take some of it!!

If anyone knows of any rescues or shelters that raw feed in the North Georgia area, let me know! I will donate all excess to them!

If you have any questions or concerns, or you want more info about the program (it is nationwide, so I can pass this info along to anyone interested in doing this themselves!), please feel free to email me and I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have!

I have a week to find some people (that is when they are sending me the contract - then it is a 2-year committment!).

Thanks,
Steph

I am in Decatur and not that far from you!! Send some of that stuff over here! I take what I can get when I can get it!
You can message me on here and we could discuss this in a little more detail if you want!
With everything going on at my house, I realized last night that I haven't been out to get more food for my dogs! :) Oops!
I am also a part of the East Coast English Bull Terrier Club and Rescue (long name, great results!) and I know of a few of us that feed raw and all that good stuff. I might try to see if they are interested also.
Thanks!

[rannmiller]

I'm so jealous!

[scarletlucy]

I am in Decatur and not that far from you!! Send some of that stuff over here! I take what I can get when I can get it!
You can message me on here and we could discuss this in a little more detail if you want!
With everything going on at my house, I realized last night that I haven't been out to get more food for my dogs! :) Oops!
I am also a part of the East Coast English Bull Terrier Club and Rescue (long name, great results!) and I know of a few of us that feed raw and all that good stuff. I might try to see if they are interested also.
Thanks!

Cool! My email address is [email protected]. Please email me and tell me about how many pounds of meat you need per month. I am currently trying to assess how many more people I need. I am still going to have way too much meat and not enough people!! It is a good thing this program doesn't kick in until November!

-Steph

[scarletlucy]

I'm so jealous!

This program is nationwide. EVERY Wal-Mart and Sams in the nation is participating in this program!! If you want information on how you can be a vendor for a store near you, just go to Quest Recycling. It will tell you about the program and how you can get started as a member getting meat from your local Wal-Mart!

[RawFedDogs]

I'm thinking this whole deal is not legit. I have been trying to get expired meats from many many grocery stores for years only to be told by each and every one that it is illegal for them to give/sell me that meat. It is picked up by the rendering plants and turned into dog food. The rendering plants pay them money for the expired meats. If it is illegal for grocery stores to sell that meat to the public to feed their dogs, it will be illegal for anyone else to also.

[scarletlucy]

I'm thinking this whole deal is not legit. I have been trying to get expired meats from many many grocery stores for years only to be told by each and every one that it is illegal for them to give/sell me that meat. It is picked up by the rendering plants and turned into dog food. The rendering plants pay them money for the expired meats. If it is illegal for grocery stores to sell that meat to the public to feed their dogs, it will be illegal for anyone else to also.

Trust me, I have been down that road before - asking grocery stores for expired meats. They can't sell it to the general public outright for liability reasons and because of USDA regulations.

However, Wal-Mart/Sams has recently partnered with Quest Recycling out of Frisco, TX to start a program called "Feed the Animals Across America." The reason for this program is because, while that meat used to go to rendering plants, lately the demand for low-fat meats/meat with less fat has created a trend towards cutting a lot of the fat off of meat before packaging and selling it. Now, when that meat expires, the rendering plants don't want it because they can't use the majority of it. So it is all going into a landfill.

What makes this legit is that each interested party is assigned a store all by themselves. They are the "vendor" for that store, essentially. They sign a contract that is not only a 2-year committment, but it places that person under the recycling company's umbrella insurance policy, thus protecting Wal-Mart from any liability in the selling of expired meat to people. The fee is anywhere between $100 to $150 a month, and you have to take EVERYTHING that is expired, whether you want it or not. Basically, you are taking responsibility for all of the expired meat that runs through that store, period.

If you want more information, go to Quest Recycling and you'll see the "feed the animals" link at the bottom, which gives more info about the program and how to get started. You can also call them and inquire about it. Jason is really nice and he'll answer all your questions.

To me, it is about time someone came up with this idea! I think it is a great idea and I'm very excited about it! A little worried about all the excess, but I think as more and more people find out about it, it won't be that big of a problem anymore.

[RawFedDogs]

I still smell a rat. I have been to the quest web site and i STILL smell a rat. Anyone can create a beautiful web site. USDA regs have not changed. Liability laws have not changed.

Let us know when you get your first batch of meat. 2800 lbs is A LOT of meat. I have bought 1/20th that at one time and it almost fills a large freezer.

Good luck.

EDITED TO ADD: I don't buy the story about rendering plants not being able to use the meat because too much fat has been removed.

[Millie123008]

Looking over their website, I don't think this is meant for the general public:

Quest Recycling is currently in the process of implementing a nation-wide program to supply past-sell by-date meat products to the animals living at zoos, parks, and other facilities throughout the United States.

It specifically states zoos, parks and other facilities throughout the United States. Also on their website it asks if you are currently a member of any zoological society or plan to join, and last, what protections are in place to prevent you or any other party from re-wrapping this and selling it as fresh meat?
Have you spoken with the two representatives listed on the site and explained who you are and what you are planning to do with the excess meat? I'm sorry to play the devil's advocate but I have to agree with RFD, it does not sound kosher.

[scarletlucy]

Looking over their website, I don't think this is meant for the general public:

Quest Recycling is currently in the process of implementing a nation-wide program to supply past-sell by-date meat products to the animals living at zoos, parks, and other facilities throughout the United States.

It specifically states zoos, parks and other facilities throughout the United States. Also on their website it asks if you are currently a member of any zoological society or plan to join, and last, what protections are in place to prevent you or any other party from re-wrapping this and selling it as fresh meat?
Have you spoken with the two representatives listed on the site and explained who you are and what you are planning to do with the excess meat? I'm sorry to play the devil's advocate but I have to agree with RFD, it does not sound kosher.

I have talked to them, they know exactly what I'm using it for. They even know how many dogs I have. I would imagine all of that information is in the contract in order to cover their own butts, and the $100 a month they charge is the liability insurance.

You don't have to believe it. You don't have to agree with it. I was merely posting information for people that were interested. You can call these people and get information on the whole program. Or you can not. It is up to you. But you will never know the whole story for yourself until you call and ask for it. They told me that anyone can do it. Feeding animals is the whole purpose for the program, and as long as I am feeding it to animals and not people, it is all good.

I found out from someone on one of my raw feeding lists that she actually called and asked for names and numbers of some of the wildlife sanctuaries that they tested this program on. She got a name and number of a wildlife sanctuary in Colorado that has been using this program since last year. Apparently, their $15,000 a month food budget has gone to zero since joining the program.

Again, I am not trying to get people into a scam. It is up to each and every person whether or not they want to do this. I personally think it is a great idea and worth looking into.

-Steph