My husband and I like the idea of buying local food as much as possible, so we decided to try out the Meat Lab at the Chico State Farm. We went in June, so school was out and I'm guessing that's why there were only 2 people there working that we saw. Their prices were about the same as the store (we typically shop at Winco). The downside for us is that they are only open to the public on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8-5, so unless you are a stay at home mom or something it can be hard to get out there. Plus, its not very conveniently located (which is understandable because you can't have a farm in the city) but driving out there kind of negates the eco-friendly buy local philosophy. Also, we went out in the morning hoping for some sausages to BBQ for lunch, and when he handed us our bag after we paid, we realized it was all frozen. (They go into what we thought was a refridgerator to fill your order). I am thinking though, that this is because it was summer, and maybe they have fresh meat during the year when students are there and classes are going on. We ended up getting a pork shoulder, 1 lb ground beef and their Italian seasoned sausages. The pork shoulder and ground beef were pretty similarly priced to the grocery store and tasted ok, the sausages were a good deal, and they tasted fantastic. There are many flavors to choose from and I know we will be going out to get more of these if nothing else. Overall it was good, we will go back, just not as often as we originally planned. read more