Whitaker Farms Home Delivery and Shipping

Shipping FAQs and Price Explanation 

Online Shopping is inevitable for all of us now.  While you may not think twice about a new pair of shoes getting shipped to your doorstep, the fulfillment of grass fed and pasture-raised meats requires quite a bit more thought, and logistics. At Whitaker Farms we ship all of our meats frozen using insulated coolers with gel packs.  The coolers are designed for a maximum of 72 hours transit time.  We ship all boxes with a 1-2 day shipping timeline, giving that 3rd day as a buffer for delayed deliveries. 

LOCAL SHIPPING 

Ground shipments will either arrive via a courier service which we contract out - or through UPS.  This just depends on how far away your home is from our farm.  If you're close enough to have our couriers do the delivery, these are the current prices:

        - Local home delivery on orders over $139.99 is free. This means a +/- 100 mile radius of Nashville.

        - Orders under $139.99 are charged $11.99 for shipping.          

UPS GROUND

If you live outside of the area that our courier service covers, we will ship your order via UPS. Those rates are determined by zip code and will be calculated at checkout. Oddly enough, the further away you live the quicker it will get to you - that is because we utilize 2 services - ground, and overnight.  If the package won't get to you in 2 days via ground - it's overnighted. It costs anywhere from $1.50-5.50/lb to ship perishable food - we do our best do put an honest price out there.  The prices for product also vary per zip code.  Ground Beef shipped to Washington State costs more to ship than product shipped to Kentucky.

Orders less than 10lbs are not guaranteed to arrive frozen. We do our best to provide enough icepacks, but smaller orders are very hard to keep completely frozen, especially in the summer.  We do guarantee your meat to arrive at a safe temperature, and even if there is some thawing, it's perfectly safe to re-freeze.  

Often times people find that its more cost effective to wait and place a big order as opposed to placing small orders throughout the month.  While we realize this might take more planning and be inconvenient, you will save more money and help our environment out.  Online ordering of meats is not sustainable when people buy a pound of ground beef and a steak - the cost to ship it, is more than the cost to make it.  We realize that big companies have tricked us into thinking shipping is free, but in all reality it's just built into the price of the product.  Whenever I see an add for free shipping i think "somewhere, someone is paying for this product to be shipped."  We're just saying that if you order enough product, we're happy to eat the costs.   

FAQs

Why do I see different prices on products?

Pickup vs Home Delivery Prices are different. Home Delivery prices are based on zip code because that's how the shipping world operates. 

When will my order arrive? 

Orders fulfilled by our courier service will arrive on Tuesday usually between 11 and 6.  Orders placed via UPS will arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday between 9 and 5, depending on your location.

My order came partially thawed, will I die if i eat it? 

Nope, you'll be just fine.  Although most of the boxes arrive fully frozen, some do experience partial thawing.  The concern here isn't necessarily how frozen the meat is, but what temperature its at.  For whatever reason a common misconception is that meat will somehow go bad if you refreeze it.  Because of the packaging of our meats, freezing and refreezing of products is completely safe and won't harm you, the meat, or the people you serve it too.  All of our meats are vacuum sealed and won't experience quality or moisture loss due to the fact that air can't get in the packaging.  For more information on this, check out this article written by the FSIS (Food safety inspection service) courtesy of the UDSA. Freezing and Food Safety. 

Do I have to be home to accept delivery?

No, our delivery drivers will simply drop off the box.  As soon as you get home, just unpack and pop it in your freezer!

Ordering Policies 

Order totals are estimated

Since many items are priced by the pound, your final total may be a little more or less than your order's initial estimated total. Once finalized, your total will be charged to your credit card on file and your receipt will be emailed.

Payment is required before delivery

We accept all major credit/debit cards and Venmo. At the time of placing your first order you will be prompted to add a credit card to your account. Once finalized, your order's total will be charged to your card on file and your receipt will be emailed. If you prefer venmo, let us know. 

Short stock items

Please understand that Whitaker Farms is a small farm not a large warehouse. If an item becomes unavailable your final total as well as any applicable delivery fees will be reduced, or we will contact you to replace an item. 

Our Guarantee

We Guarantee the product to arrive and remain frozen until 7pm.  Partial thawing is normal and product can be placed directly in the freezer without issues. 

Did you Know? 

We also offer pickup locations throughout Tennessee and Kentucky.