Frequently Asked Questions

As long as they are kept at a steady freezing temperature and the vacuum seal is intact, our meats can last 12 months in the freezer.

Almost all of our meats are vacuum sealed with thick BPA proof vacuum packs. This does not only prevent freezer burn, it’s very easy to defrost. Some of our meats are packaged in butcher paper due to the shape or form of the meats which make them hard to vacuum pack.

They are packaged in a insulated box with dry ice. Our boxes are 100% curbside recyclable and made from recycled paper. For the rare occasion, like heatwave combined with long distance shipping, we might use an EPS cooler but we try to stay away from EPS as much as we can.

Frozen is the best way to ensure that the meat retains its flavour, texture and colour. The freezing process takes only minutes but the benefits are long-lasting. There is no discernible difference between fresh and flash frozen meat or seafood.

This link has a great video explaining the benefits: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1egJqB7bw8

If the vacuum seal of the package is not broken, your meat has a shelf life in a refrigerator of up to 2 weeks.  Once you break the seal you should consume the meat in 3 days if ground, 5 days for cuts / sausages.

DO NOT THAW AT ROOM TEMPERATURE OR IN HOT WATER or MICROWAVE. Thawing in the fridge is ideal however, if you are in a rush, you can put the vacuum sealed packages into a sink with COLD water, however please be aware that small holes can occur in the vacuum-seal during freezing, shipping or handling which is why we recommend thawing on a dish in your fridge, if you have the time.

Some of our farmers are certified organic by Pro-Cert and SPCA certified. Although all of our suppliers pledge not to use pesticides, herbicides or antibiotics of any kind, we do not mandate our suppliers to have organic certification because it is tremendously costly for small producers.  We have found that there are other, perhaps more important, indicators of quality and sustainability. For more information about each farm it is best to check out the sourcing page: https://papaearth.ca/sourcing/

We believe meat that costs a few dollars per pound actually costs far more than that… in environmental destruction, the animal’s lack of well being, and long-term human health.

Our prices are honest, and offer great value relative to all-natural grocery stores.  Our products range from $8 to $35+/lb, and we offer a very different product from what you see in a grocery store. Our animals are raised on Ontario  pastures, moved regularly, never fed antibiotics, and have plenty of space to enjoy their lives. They are raised by humans, not machines, on farms that are slowly rebuilding Canada’s agricultural heritage.  And you can taste the difference!

Yes, our beef is grass-fed. We have grass fed and grass finished beef and we also have AAA beef. The AAA beef is grass fed but grains are also used to supplement the animals’ diet. The combination of these natural foods helps achieve a higher degree of marbling than that found in exclusively grass-fed beef.

For more information about the difference between the labels grass-fed, grass-fed and grass-finished, grass-fed and grain-finished check out our blog article here.

For more info about our beef farmers check out our sourcing: https://papaearth.ca/sourcing/

Our prices are a fair reflection of what it costs to produce the highest quality products.  Our goal is to make them available to as many people as possible while covering our costs, most of which goes towards supporting the farmers in our program.

No, we are not owned by Trulocal or Emerge or any other company. We are a completely independent family owned business and partner with local farmers, butchers and delivery companies.

Our prices are a fair reflection of what it costs to produce the highest quality products.  Our goal is to make them available to as many people as possible while covering our costs, most of which goes towards supporting the farmers in our program.

No. Our orders are small enough to fit in any home refrigerator / freezer (assuming it’s not already full with items that you can’t identify, in which case it’s maybe time for a clean start?).  You can also skip anytime if you run out of room.

For the LARGE box order, you must make sure that an average fridge freezer is completely empty though.

No problem!  Everything is packed with an ice pack in an insulated recyclable box, so it will stay frozen for at least 24 hours on your doorstep.  If you do not have a safe drop spot for us to leave your delivery, we would suggest delivering to an office location. Please be sure to refrigerate or freeze the product as soon as possible after delivery. If this is a gift, please alert gift recipients that a perishable gift will be delivered to them and to freeze or refrigerate all products as soon as possible upon delivery.

If you did not receive your order within 2 days of the anticipated delivery date you need to email us immediately at support@papaearth.ca so we have time to trouble shoot the issue. If you wait longer, we will not reimburse you for your order.

We always send out a delivery email with the anticipated delivery date. It happens sometimes that it takes a bit longer to deliver when there’s an unexpected interruption for the delivery company. Our delivery companies also send you tracking links by email and / or text messaging.

Yes we do, however, it is your responsibility to give us proper delivery instructions. For example if you live in an apartment building, makes sure to give us the buzzer code or contact info of your concierge, if applicable. When delivery has to come to your office, make sure to give us the right department / name of recipient if it’s not yourself.

You don’t have to be home in order to receive it, our boxes are insulated and can be left at your doorstep.

When we receive your order, we start packing it ASAP. We have deliveries to the following areas on certain days:

GTA: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday 

Outside of GTA: Shipping on Monday & Tuesday

If you live outside of the GTA we will supply you with a tracking code so you can see when your order will arrive.

We will make every attempt to adhere to this shipping schedule as much as possible, holidays and unforeseen circumstances can force exceptions to the shipping and delivery schedule. If you have special delivery requests or you need to request a specific delivery date, please send an email to support@papaearth.ca once you complete your order.

Nope! You can select your frequency of delivery (every 2, 3, 4 or 6 weeks). If you just want to order one time, no problem, simply pause or cancel your subscription at any time. There are no cancellation fees or whatsoever.

Absolutely! Papa Earth offers a variety of pre-selected boxes and on top of that we offer the option for you to customize your own box based on a coin system. You can change your box every time you before your next delivery or simply keep re-ordering it.

We believe that loyal customers should be rewarded, that’s why we reward them with loyalty COINS. These are simply discounts that can be used to get a discount on your next order or to save up for a free box. The loyalty COINS are equal to our in-store COIN currency. We apply the following amount of loyalty coins for each box:

SMALL BOX:       1 loyalty coin

MEDIUM BOX:   3 loyalty coins

LARGE BOX:       10 loyalty coins

You can apply them as a discount in your subscription in the ‘my account’ section.

We deliver to everywhere in Ontario and Quebec and almost everywhere in Canada. Toronto – Mississauga – Scarborough – Brampton – Markham – Richmond Hill – Etobicoke – Oakville – Burlington – Hamilton – Pickering – Ajax – Whitby – Oshawa – Newmarket – Aurora – Barie –  Kitchener – Cambridge – Waterloo – Guelph – London Ontario – Windsor – St Catherines – Kingston – Ottawa – Sudbury – Montreal – Quebec City – Sherbrooke and the list goes on.

We deliver almost anywhere in Canada where any major delivery companies like FedEx or UPS can reach. If you are unsure about delivery in your area please contact us at support@papaearth.ca

Shipping is free anywhere in Ontario and Quebec. If you live in any other province, here are the delivery fees:

British Columbia & Alberta: $119.99

Saskatchewan: $49.99

Manitoba: $59.99

New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island: $79.99

Newfoundland & Labrador: $219.99

Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories and Nunavut: $199.99

The temperature of dry ice is -109F, cold enough to freeze skin cells and cause an injury similar to a burn. Always handle dry ice with protective gloves or a towel and keep out of reach from children. You should never dispose of dry ice in a sink, toilet or other device. This can destroy the structure because of the temperature difference, instead, let it defrost in our insulated cooler.

Yes! Our boxes including the insulation are made out of recycled paper and are 100% curbside recyclable. Or great to use as a cooler to the beach!

Only in rare occasions we sometimes use EPS for example in hot summer days if shipping takes over 2 days. EPS boxes tend to insulate better but we try to avoid using it at all times.

We are committed to excellence in Customer Service and providing the highest quality cuts of meat available. If you’re not completely satisfied with your experience, e-mail or call us and we guarantee we’ll make it right for you every time! Email: support@papaearth.ca

Please make sure to include as much order information as possible to help us expedite your concerns.

Yes you can! You can do that through the ‘my account’ section and click on ‘subscriptions’. Here you can manage your subscription including changing your box selection. For complete instructions click here. 

Having issues with changing your box selections? Please send us an email with your desired selection to support@papaearth.ca and we’ll make sure to adjust your box.