Ive always loved filling up the freezer with double batches of soup, quart containers of bone broth and blanched garden vegetables. When my stocking up commandeered so much freezer space that there was no room even for ice cubes, I upgraded to semipro squirrel-it-away status and bought a dented upright freezer from the back room of my local appliance store. Its tucked in a dusty corner of my basement and I make good use of it all year long.

But this year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, is different. In May, I submitted a $100 deposit for a half a pig 50 to 70 pounds worth from Zweber Farms , an organic family farm in Elko, Minnesota. It was a purchase that required some budgetary decision-making now and for the future, since Ill owe another $200 when the meat is ready (sometime between August and December).

There are other challenges, too. When I pick up my three 12-by-18-inch boxes of processed meat, Ill need to cram them all into the basement freezer and hope I still have some space for my autumn garden harvest (not to mention ice cubes). Then, over the long winter, Ill need to stay up-to-date on my inventory and cook it all wisely and well. According to the farm, a typical half-pig purchase includes 8 to 10 pounds of pork chops, three roasts, two quarter hams, 10 to 14 pounds of bacon, three pounds of ribs and 15 pounds of ground meat.