Processed and packaged meats from Old Century Meats. Photo courtesy of Old Century Meats.
The most local artisan meat producers in Birmingham are located just over Double Oak Mountain off CR-43 in Sterrett.
Old Century Meats is just one part of the mission at Caritas of Birmingham. While they are a mission first, the meat is a fruit of their labor. They are a community of people living a simple agrarian life, and all of the proceeds from their products go to continue their mission, not to anyone personally.
Their mission statement is they exist to glorify God, the Creator, in all that they do. Their belief is "you can mass produce food, but you can't mass produce good food," and they strive to bring the healthiest, most delicious products to their loyal customers while praying to have a positive impact on their meals, their family life, and their health.
On the mission's property, they raise cattle, hogs and chickens as part of their multi-generational operation agrarian system, which has been going for over 30 years. They began offering their products to the public at farmer’s markets along the 280 corridor around 2016, and have since continued to grow their customer base.
Their customer base grew by word of mouth and had almost 1,000 people sign up for their email list from their first farmers market season.
Erin Colafrancesco, daughter-in-law of the mission founder, Terry Colafrancesco, handles the sales side of Old Century Meats, said this is just one part of the outreach of their mission.
She said as their meat products began to be more than enough for their community, they began sharing with others.
“The scale was bigger than that we needed in our community, and we were able to serve others while keeping that quality and fantastic flavor. We always say happy animals are healthy animals and our livestock are in an environment in creation the way God intended it to be,” she said.
All of their beef, chicken and pork products are all-natural, heritage grown with no steroids, antibiotics or GMOs. Their items are processed at a certified USDA approved facility and are deep frozen and packed at peak freshness.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, their business continued to grow, as people were searching for local meat online and finding out about them. Although they do not ship, those wanting to order for local pick up can do so at their website.
To purchase products, customers place orders a week ahead on their website oldcenturymeats.com/shop-1 and pick them up on Saturday mornings from 9-10 a.m. at 3600 Cedar Lane, just past the Cowboys gas station on Double Oak Mountain. They also offer delivery options.
Their products can also be ordered from Till, Birmingham’s only online farmers market at usetill.com/sources/old-century-meats.
The mission also has plans to rebrand soon. Old Century Meats will become known as Villagio Colafrancesco, named after the mission’s founder. They have also purchased the property at Cedar Lane where they have their pickups. They are currently renovating the house that was there, and will open the only American franchise of the Old Bridge Gelateria, where they will make custom gelato with fresh milk brought in daily from their cows and also roast their own coffee beans.
The idea for this came about after Terry visited the location in Rome and became friends with the owner of Old Bridge Gelateria, located in Vatican City. After the owner came to visit the mission and saw their practices, he agreed to allow Terry to create a franchise. Before opening, he will come back to Birmingham for training. They hope to open in the next several months.
