Despite common assumptions about the palates of South Georgia's residents and the prevalence of chain restaurants and fast food, there are plenty of foodies out there, and quite a few ethical eaters who would love to see selections of better quality and more humane treatment of animals around them. They should all know about this farm!
This is the store and farm for Thompson Farms; they also sell their stuff at Whole Foods, from my short bout of Googling about them. First off, Google Maps lies - this is way further down Dixie Rd, and you can't miss the sign. Luckily, the people at the store talked me through getting there the first time around, and they were super helpful. You'll come in on a well-kept dirt road, and see some of the best real estate given to pigs anywhere. No uninviting "Ew, this is a meat farm" smell, because they're fair about taking care of their pigs; they do it right.
The products are somehow both cheap and amazing. Even the mild sausage has a bit of a kick, and the way it fries up was a revelation to me the first time I cooked it. You'll get an amount of drippings equal to what you get out of your average bacon - perfect for making a killer gravy, sauce, or soup. Speaking of bacon - it's very high-quality, traditional (no, there aren't three different wood smoke variations or, sadly, thicker cuts), and under six bucks for a pound. They even had some free-range eggs from the farm, good stuff. I haven't had the ribs, ham, or pork steaks yet, but considering this visit, that's on the agenda for later.
Give these guys your money, put way better food on the table, and give the factory farms the boot! read more
