Creston Valley Foods

I LOVE Creston Valley. I buy from both the raw pet and the human side. Love the grass fed beef shanks, marrow bones and beef liver. My dog loves the pigs feet (but my neighbors are not so happy when he digs a hole under the fence and hides his «prizes» in it!!!).
The prices and quality are good, but if you are squeamish you may want to choose carefully off the raw pet food menu if you want to avoid opening a large box of obvious body parts! The patties are great! You can order online every other week depending on whether you are on their North or South California delivery route and you select the drop off point that is nearest to you. The schedule is a bit sporadic since there are usually several stops ahead of your drop point and the timing is wholly dependent on other customers showing up on time. But if you follow Simon on Twitter (@crestonvalleyn) then you usually have a pretty accurate time of delivery. There are occasional mix ups and/​or substitutions with orders but honestly that goes with the territory when you are part of a «co-​op» and I’ve had some serendipitous results from such mix ups! Just make sure you have plenty of room in your freezer as you are buying in bulk, at least with the raw pet food!

We want to give our dogs the very best, so we gave Creston Valley Meats a try! The quality of the meat is great and the quantity is even better! We got some whole turkey breasts and the berry turkey patties. No smell to the meat, which is a good sign that it’s fresh! I highly suggest to follow them on Twitter @crestonvalleyn to check what time they’ll be at your pick-​up destination. Pick-​up was easy at the Emeryville location. You simply just tell them who you are picking up for and pay. The boxes look small, but they are packed and heavy. They’ll also help you load the boxes to your car if you need it. Thanks CVM! We will be ordering more :)

The quality of the meat I have tried from Creston Valley Meats is mixed. Some might be suited for pet food. Their bacon burger patties were a big hit. The short ribs were mostly bone with just a narrow margin of meat. What little meat could be found, was chewy and lacking flavor. Didn’t feel like it was money well spent. Will try different cut of meat next time.

The twitter handle is @crestonvalleyn

I’m very grateful to my raw dog foodie friend for introducing me to this traveling butcher. With a regular-​sized freezer, I’ve only had the opportunity to place a couple orders thus far, but I feel ready to give them an approving review. Their prices are excellent, mainly because they *make* you buy in bulk. This I’m happy to do if it means I save some money while enabling me to feed high quality meals to my dogs.
Bonus points for «unusual’ proteins like ostrich, emu, rabbit and goat. They also have some great sardine mixes. If you have dogs with food sensitivities to common proteins like beef, chicken, and lamb, you’ll understand why it’s so important to have other affordable protein options.
I find that their biggest downsides are the complicated ordering system, and somewhat erratic schedule. It took me some time to figure it out, since it’s really not as simple as a click-​and-​pay website. However, it’s a reminder that you’re working directly with a small-​time butcher whose focus is on sourcing and processing meat, NOT necessarily on setting up a fancy website!
Because limited freezer space prevents me from ordering frequently from them, I have not been negatively impacted by schedule mishaps or ordering mixups. Unfortunately, this has happened to others that I know. I have also observed last-​minute schedule changes in the time that I’ve been receiving their e-​mails.
I am lucky to have a fairly flexible schedule at the moment, where I *can* be available on short notice to pick up my order at a later date. But I can’t imagine what a nuisance this might be for folks who have fixed schedules, or who might happen to time their pickups for a day off or something.
Again, them’s the breaks when your butcher’s just a guy and his truck!

I order the human side of the meats from Creston Valley and have been completely happy and pleased with each order I have placed with him. Compared to what is available at the local stores and for the pricing the value and quality is incredible. His service has been spot on and consistant. The deliveries have been on time and his driver is very polite and flexible. They are quick to communicate with you to let you know how far out they are and the time frame to expect them at the pick-​up location. I would rather take the time out to drive an extra 5 – 10 mile for the quality of the products and continue to support his smaller private business. Great people, great food. Highly reccommend them.

I did a review of the Ostrich Wings here:
Pictures and all.
If you live in California CVM is great for stuff you can’t find in a grocery store and organs.
Personally I like to feed way more meat and CVM doesn’t have enough meaty selections but they do have some great organs, etc…

If you live in CA and feed a raw diet you have at least probably heard of CVM. I have only placed a few orders, and the experience was so-​so. My first order was properly placed, but was not loaded onto the truck for delivery. I had to resubmit my order and wait until they came back down my way to get. I was offered a certain amount off the order, but that never happened, so I ended up having to wait and pay full price, but by that point I was so annoyed I didn’t want to get into it w/​Simon, and just let it slide. The products I got were very nice, but to me it’s not worth the hassle since I have plenty of other raw feeding resources right in my back yard.

Creston Valley Meats is a haven for RAW dog/​cat pet owners. It saves you a heck of a lot of time driving around your town trying to get variety and cheap prices. They make bi-​monthly trips to most of California so get on their web site and check it out. You order in bulk so don’t be surprised at the size box you receive. Depending on my mood, I either start defrosting my boxes slightly and repackage to my needs or I put it in my freezer and do at a later date. Besides various raw meaty bones, a large variety of ground meat such as llama, beef, chicken and a good selection of chewing bones, they also have green tripe and some strange cuts that your animal might love! They also do have some pretty bizarre and gross items such as sheep heads (everything attached still such as the fur, the metal tag used for tagging them, etc.). You will meet them at a prearranged site, usually right off a major freeway exit or at a person’s home who places a really large order. Your product comes via a freezer truck. You’ll be surprised at how many people buy from them. Be sure to complete the ordering process all the way. If you aren’t careful, your order won’t be complete and it won’t go through. You’ll be stuck with nothing. When you order on line, you click on the product which will take you to the next order page. You then update your order to the approximate amount that you want, and recalculate. Be sure to read in what quantity the product comes in (ie. 15 lb or 20 lb. etc). Sometimes they run out of items even though it said they had it. Other times, you can email Simon and ask if there’s a box or two of an item around. If in doubt, email Simon the owner. Be forewarned, once you’re in his email system and he lets you know when he’s coming your way, then you may be swamped with everyone else’s emails to him as well. When people hit the reply button, it goes to everyone on his list. Email him separately. Overall, it’s worth the little glitches that occur.
This is not for animals only, they sell human grade products which are top notch. I’ve seen one guy who gets some of the steaks and sells them at farmers market. I’ve seen one guy who only gets the sausages.