Forageshare program
The Forageshare program was initially launched in the Spring of 2020 as a response to the rapidly changing social landscape that the Covid pandemic brought with it. As a response to the confusion and uncertainy that arose, an idea was born. Since that time a lot has changed among the greater world of the social landscape. As such, Forageshare has changed. It survives as a shapeshifter seated at the crossroads: an expression of how available abundance can intersect with the current desires of customers.
Overview of offerings
Forageshare offers thicket-raised pork year-round. You can read more about our American Guinea hog pork, including availability of cuts and pricing, below.
Other offerings are more variable, being dependent on a coinciding of available time, appropriate weather, and relative abundance. Items that generally come in and out of availability in season are wild mushrooms, elderberries, and pawpaws, to name a few.
See below for a list of potential offerings announced through the email list.
How Forageshare functions
These days Forageshare is anchored in being flexible and dynamic. We send out irregular emails when we have something in quantity on offer. You can request to be added to this email list by contacting Ardea and letting us know.
Other than that, we would love to hear from you if you have a small business or are hosting an event that would like to source ingredients. These types of arrangements have become a larger focus of Forageshare since its inception. In the past Forageshare has supplied wild edibles to Newgrass Brewing and Freshlist, and at present provides the local bakery Milk Glass Pie with seasonal ingredients.
Get on the email list
If you would like to be contacted with offerings that become available through Forageshare you will want to get on the email list. You can do that by visiting the contact page to let us know.
The American Guinea hog, once known as the Guinea forest pig or simply ‘yard pig’, was once a standard homestead animal in the Southeastern US. American Guinea hog meat is known for being rich, moist, and flavorful. This is mostly due to the presence of intra-muscular fat. Our experience with this particular trait is that cuts such as pork chops and ham steaks can be cooked on the stove top in an uncovered skillet without drying out.
We refer to the pork presently offered as thicket-raised. The last year they were alive on this Earth was spent in an area of a young forest with a large thicket along its edges. Thickets are one of the most diverse ecosystems, and pigs are textbook omnivores, taking a very opportunistic approach to eating. Well, thickets provide a lot of opportunity. Here these pigs were able to eat a wide range of wild foods including: blackberries, muscadines, black cherries, leaves and plants of all sorts, whatever roots were edible, grubs and worms galore... the experience of a pig's essence.
Along with their natural inclination to forage their food, they were given a regular supply of whey from Guernsey Girl Creamery. When deemed necessary, particularly during the lean Winter months, their diet was supplemented with grain.
Prices & availability
Ground/Sausage:
1 lb packages are $9.00 each
Chorizo
Hot Country
Mild Country
Bratwurst (links)
Ground Pork
Pork belly/Fatback:
Pork belly - $11/lb
packages 2 to 2.5 lbs
Fatback - $4/lb
packages 2 to 3 lbs
Cuts:
all cuts are bone-in
Pork Chops - $11/lb
packages generally 1 lb, 2 chops per pack, loin-in, 1 inch thick
Ham Roast - $10/lb
packages 2.5 to 3 lbs
Ham Steaks - $10/lb
packages 2.5 to 3 lbs, cut into two steaks 3/4 inch thick
Boston Butt - $9/lb
packages 3 to 7 lbs
Ordering
To order American Guinea hog pork please use the button below to contact Forageshare at Ardea. Feel free to include what you want to order and any questions. From there we can make arrangements. In general orders are picked up at Ardea. In some cases we will be able to rendezvous.
The following is not an exhaustive or definitive list.
It serves to offer a glimpse at potential and possibility.
late winter through early spring:
stinging nettle greens
wild garlic chives & scapes
daylily shoots
bamboo shoots
redbud blossoms
pine shoots & flowers
mulberry shoots
wild salad greens
late spring through early summer:
wild mushrooms
chanterelles
wood ear
milkcaps
blueberries
wild plums
bamboo shoots
daylily flower buds
milkweed blossoms
greenbrier shoots
late summer through late fall:
wild mushrooms
chanterelles
hen of the woods
lion’s mane
pawpaws
elderberries
aronia berries
wild nuts
acorns, black walnuts, hickories
(cured in-shell)
Contact us using the button below to join the Forageshare email list.