This truLOCAL review post contains affiliate links and we were given a sample. If you make a purchase we may be compensated. All opinions are our own.
Written By Alison Chew | Dietitian Verified by Rebecca Housh, MS, RDN
truLOCAL connects you to locally and sustainably sourced, high-quality meat and seafood free from antibiotics and added hormones through partnerships with local farms and suppliers in Canada.
Supporting local businesses is important to truLOCAL as it provides full transparency on where the meat and seafood you order are sourced.
With truLOCAL you have 2 subscription box sizes to choose from, each between $6.22-$6.94 per serving, and both come with free shipping. Don’t get scared off by the subscription, it’s super easy to pause, skip, or cancel and there are no fees for canceling.
The Small Box is $125 with up to 18 individual portions and a starting cost per serving of $6.94.
The Regular Box is $249 with up to 40 individual servings and a starting cost per serving of $6.22.
Since each box is fully customizable, the number of portions per box varies on your meat and seafood selections. truLOCAL uses a point system giving each product a point value. The Small Box has a total point value of 9 and the Regular Box has a point value of 20. SHOP NOW >>
In our $249 Regular Box, worth 20 points, we ordered:
This comes out to over 40 servings at around $6 per serving! For our family of three, this is enough protein for 13 – 14 meals.
When comparing the cost of our truLOCAL order with a similar order at Whole Foods we found two things: the selection at Whole Foods was not exactly the same and therefore hard to compare and Whole Foods was less expensive, by around $40, when comparing “similar” products.
With that said the quality and taste of the truLOCAL strip steak and the wild-caught shrimp were far superior to anything that we have bought from Whole Foods and could easily make up for the difference in price. You are also paying for the convenience of not having to leave your home.SHOP NOW >>
One thing to note, if you are shopping at a regular grocery store like Safeway, Acme, Giant, etc., and comparing cost, it’s unfair to compare truLOCAL with mass-produced, conventionally sourced, non-organic meat and seafood as the quality is not the same. That would be like comparing a Honda to a Ferrari, both are cars sure, but they are not in the same class when it comes to quality. SHOP NOW >>
We were super excited to try truLOCAL as we’ve been thinking about using a meat and/or seafood delivery service but weren’t sure if it was worth it and if the quality is that different from what we can buy at our local Whole Foods. Whole Foods, if you don’t know, is a high-end grocery store owned by Amazon that carries natural and organic foods including sustainably sourced meat and seafood. SHOP NOW >>
Let’s talk about taste. Everything arrives flash-frozen and individually packaged on dry ice so that it stays cold until you get home to unpack your box. We had an issue with our dry ice, it was still very cold, but it had come loose in the box and 1 of the shrimp packages had a hole. This is not a dealbreaker as everything was frozen, but you have to be careful handling dry ice.
Back to taste! Does grass-fed and grass-finished really make a difference in the taste of the beef? Aside from being more sustainable and better for the environment and the animals, the short answer is YES!
I was skeptical, but when comparing the grass-fed and grass-finished strip steak specifically to grass-fed and grass-finished strip steak from Whole Foods we were surprised by how much more flavorful the truLOCAL steak was compared to, what we thought was high-end steak. SHOP NOW >>
What is grass-fed and grass-finished exactly? According to truLOCAL, “Most cattle spend a majority of their lives eating grass on pasture, before being transferred to a feedlot to gain additional fat.
Grass-fed, grass-finished cattle stay on the pasture, eating a diet of grass and hay, resulting in a unique texture and taste.” If you haven’t tried it, stop reading this post, and buy some 🙂
The bacon was delicious, how could it not be? It was thick and wide and very tasty with eggs for breakfast. The bacon, pork tenderloin, and ribs come from pigs who were raised on an all-vegetarian diet, are American Humane Certified, and like all truLOCAL products, never administered antibiotics or growth hormones.
The ribs were excellent. We baked them low and slow in the oven for around 2 and a half hours before finishing them on the grill. They were tender and juicy. The burgers and chicken were great as well. SHOP NOW >>
The shrimp were amazing! They were really big and perfect for our shrimp fajitas. Next to the strip steak, I was most surprised by the quality and taste of the shrimp. They were hands-down the best shrimp that I have ever had.
These shrimp are wild-caught, deveined Argentine red shrimp that come from the Atlantic Ocean. A must-try! We enjoyed the Pacific rockfish, a mild white fish, and found it much tastier than tilapia. SHOP NOW >>
truLOCAL connects you to locally and sustainably sourced, high-quality meat and seafood free from antibiotics and added hormones through partnerships with local farms and suppliers in Canada.
We love that truLOCAL offers a selection of both high-quality meat and seafood and that they take pride in working with local farmers in Canada to source high-quality antibiotic and hormone-free meat and that you can taste the difference in every bite.
And while they had some packaging hiccups, we are confident that as truLOCAL grows so will their selection and packaging quality.
Compared to other online retailers that ship meat and seafood, truLOCAL’s quality is superior to most and their prices are on the higher end to match the quality products that you are receiving.
If you don’t have access to high-quality meat and seafood products at your local grocery store, don’t have a wide selection, or want something that is more convenient and fully customizable truLOCAL is right for you. Give truLOCAL a try using an offer below and taste the difference for yourself! SHOP NOW >>
Looking for more Meat Delivery Services? Check out our Meat Directory >>
Compare all Seafood Delivery services in our directory >>
| This post has been reviewed and approved by our dietitian Rebecca Housh, MS, RDN, LDN for nutritional accuracy. | |
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 | Rebecca Housh is a registered dietitian based in Chicago, IL. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Physiology from Boston University and a Master of Science in Human Nutrition from the University of Illinois in Chicago. Rebecca is passionate about the idea of food as medicine in both preventative and therapeutic care. Her current professional interests lie in food security, food access, and nutrition for chronic disease. |
