What is a meat raffle?
A meat raffle is a tradition of raffling off meat, often in pubs and bars in Australia, in some areas of Britain and the US, and in Western Canada. In some cases the raffle is operated by a charity, though in Britain most of the proceeds are spent on prizes and the raffle is run as a social occasion and a method of enticing customers into a local pub. The meat ranges in animal and cut and often comes from local butchers.
If you’re from Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Western New York, you’ll likely recognize the meat raffle as a raucous social event where people gather to have fun and take a chance to win a package of meat for just a dollar or two. With a spin of a wheel, the holder of the correct numbered ticket can walk away with pounds of fresh sausage, ham, turkey, steak, hot dogs, etc.
How dies a meat raffle work?
Meat raffles are conducted in rounds. Before each round begins, ticket sellers walk around selling tickets (typically $2 or $3 each), usually in $1 bills since sellers will not make change.
Tickets have three numbers on them, so if the wheel lands on one of those numbers, you win the meat for that spin. Multiple people can have the same number, and there could be more than one winner per spin.
As each round begins, the MC announces the number of spins of the wheel for that round. It could vary from one spin or as many as five per round, which increases your chances of winning meat with the same ticket!
Why a meat raffle store?
Meat raffles are social events as well as raffles. People go there to have fun! People often bring noisemakers, good luck charms (like pig or cow jewelry, pig noses, etc.)
Heard at a recent meat raffle: “Where did you get those cute …(pig snouts, earrings, hats)” and the idea was born to consolidate the most popular meat raffle items in one online spot.