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Spotlight on Lucas Family Farms

Our Member Deals Spotlight shines brightly this week on Lucas Family Farms! Member-owners can enjoy a 20% discount on all of Lucas Family Farm’s local, grass-fed meats and pasture-raised eggs from July 8th – 14th. Read on to learn more about this regenerative ranch, their deep commitment to environmental stewardship, and the family that brings it to life:

 

Lucas Family Farms is a family-run ranch in Orwell, VT, that produces 100% grass-fed, grass-finished beef and lamb, as well as non-GMO, pasture-raised eggs. The farm is owned and operated by Josh and Janelle Lucas and their three children, who are all active participants in the day-to-day workings of the farm.

The Lucas Family

 

Raising livestock on their farm is part of a much broader goal that extends beyond producing high-quality food; their livestock offer a means of regenerating their soils, increasing the soil’s ability to retain water, provide nutrients, support biodiversity, and sequester carbon, ultimately offering critical ecosystem services that benefit us all. The Lucas Family practices a type of grazing known as Management Intensive Grazing (MiG) which is a flexible approach to rotational grazing where paddock size, stocking density, and length of grazing period are adjusted to balance forage supply with animal nutrient demand through the grazing season. Practicing MiG has the potential to produce productive, high-quality forage while maintaining or improving soil health factors such as soil organic matter levels, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration.

 
The happy cows at Lucas Family Farms enjoying lush pasture with the Lucas family homestead in the background
 

Livestock have been implicated in many injurious processes including land degradation, excess water use, nutrient excretion, fossil fuel use, and emission of greenhouse gases. However, when livestock are raised on their natural diets of grasses and other diverse forage, they have great potential to positively impact human health and the health of our environment. According to the Savory Institute, raising cattle on pasture for their entire lives can offer benefits ranging from increased animal welfare, preservation of ecosystem services, promotion of deep-rooted perennials on croplands, and recycling of plant nutrients. Properly managed grass-fed cattle are capable of regenerating land by restoring soil microbial diversity and increasing soil organic matter, making land more resilient to flooding and drought. This practice can also boost nutrient content, resulting in more heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, more antioxidants, and more conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a type of fat that’s been shown to reduce heart disease and cancer risk. And because grasses trap atmospheric carbon dioxide, the grass-fed system is a critical tool for sinking carbon and combating climate change. 

 
The girls pitch in with setting and moving paddock fencing as part of the family’s Management Intensive Grazing (MiG) program

 

The pasture-raised eggs produced by Lucas Family Farms offer similar nutritional benefits. According to a 2010 study from Pennsylvania State University, researchers found that one pasture-raised egg contains twice as much vitamin E and long-chain omega-3 fats, more than double the total omega-3 fatty acids, and less than half the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. Vitamin A concentration is also 38% higher in the eggs of pastured hens compared to commercial hens’ eggs. 

 

Happy pastured hens at Lucas Family Farms

 

From an animal welfare point of view, pastured hens also have significant advantages, due to the fact that they are allowed to roam freely on fresh pasture where they’re free to forage, run, perch, bathe, and socialize as much or as little as they choose. It’s important to note that chickens are omnivores and their optimal diet includes plants, insects, seeds, and even small animals like mice and frogs. Luckily, pastured hens have easy access to all of these foodstuffs, and they’re fresher and more nutritious than anything that can be purchased at the feed store.

 
Hens and cows enjoying adjacent pasture at Lucas Family Farms

Summer Pasta Salad

Looking for a cool meal for a hot summer night? Or a tasty make-ahead dish to take to a summer potluck? This pasta salad combines fresh, local summer veggies & local pasta with tangy dressing, olives, and feta for a perfectly balanced summer meal. Many of the ingredients are featured in our weekly sale from July 8th – 14th, so this one’s easy on the wallet, too! Feel free to be creative with veggie add-ins. This is the kind of salad that can be built around just about any veggies that are abundant in your garden (or the local farm down the road) this time of year.

Spotlight on Butterworks Farm

Butterworks Farm is basking in the glow of the Member Deals Spotlight this week and all of their local, organic, grass-fed dairy products are 20% off for member-owners from July 1st – July 7th. Read on to learn more about this local farm worked by three generations of the Lazor Family over 46 years to bring you high-quality products with a deep emphasis on regenerative practices that promote soil building, carbon sequestration, water retention, and biodiversity:

Over forty-six years ago, Jack and Anne Lazor came to Westfield, VT fresh out of college with degrees in Agricultural History (Jack) and Anthropology (Anne) and a desire to live “happily ever after as a couple of back-to-the-landers.” By 1979, the couple was selling yogurt, cottage cheese, and raw milk locally to a growing fan base. Over the next several decades, Jack and Anne continued to blaze new trail as leaders in organic farming, laying a firm foundation for the robust local food system whose fruits we’re lucky to enjoy today.

Along the way, Jack managed to find time to teach classes in organic agriculture at the University of Vermont, give frequent inspirational keynote addresses at organic farming conferences, fervently advocate for the adoption of organic practices, particularly within the dairy sector, and write a book called “The Organic Grain Grower” which Mother Earth News dubbed “the best resource we’ve seen for small-scale grain growers everywhere.” Jack was known for being an avid perpetual student as he and Anne exhaustively researched ways to farm with environmental stewardship at the forefront. 

In 2010, Jack was diagnosed with prostate cancer and spent seven years on dialysis for cancer-related kidney failure. Over that period of time, Anne kept Jack and the farm running, serving as Jack’s home dialysis technician and a caring presence for the entire Butterworks team. After a long and courageous fight, Jack lost his battle with cancer in November of 2020. Jack and Anne’s daughter Christine Lazor grew up at Butterworks Farm and now has a family of her own. A deep love for the team, the farm, the animals, the products, and the mountains keep her inspired as she and her family carry on the rich farming traditions that her parents began.

Jack & Anne Lazor

Anne and Jack Lazor were awarded NOFA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 and were the first organic farmers to be inducted into the Vermont Agriculture Hall of Fame. NOFA-VT was also proud to launch a soil health cohort program this year to honor the legacy and wisdom of Jack Lazor. This cohort will promote farmer-to-farmer education and relationship building in an effort to address both short-term mitigation strategies around soil health as well as long-term systems change. This cohort will prioritize farmers who are, or wish to become great educators and will continue to share what they learn with other farmers through mentorship or by hosting workshops in the future. In this way, the funds will continue to pay it forward and honor Jack’s legacy for years to come. Several Addison County farmers including Chad & Morgan Beckwith of Ice House Farm were honored as part of the inaugural class of soil stewards. To see the full list, click here.

 

The lucky cows of Butterworks Farm are a herd of very friendly and sometimes precocious Jerseys. Each has her own name and stanchion in the barn during milking. Jerseys were chosen for their ability to produce exceptional milk on a 100% grass-fed diet. High fiber and mineral-rich grasses, legumes, and forages are always available to the cows in the lush, rotationally grazed pastures of summer and the sweet hay in the winter solar barn.

Their farming methods have evolved over the years. For the first forty years, they were grain growers and hay producers. Cereal crops such as oats, wheat, and barley, along with row crops like corn and soy fit neatly into their crop rotations with grasses and legumes. From the straw for the animals’ bedding to the grain the cows ate, everything was grown on the farm. Over the years, as their soil health and fertility increased, the quality of their forages improved until they realized that they could likely reduce the amount of grain that was being fed to the cows. By 2016, they had phased out grains completely and became a 100% grass-fed dairy, rotating the cows on fresh pasture every twelve hours.  

 

Jack shared in a Butterwork’s Farm blog post that, “our transition to 100% grass-fed is well worth it.  Despite the fact that we will need more land and sharpened management skills to do this, we are very happy to promote more grass and less grain (and subsequently less tillage) on the land that we steward.  More grass means more fibrous root systems in the soil.  Less grain means less tillage and better soil health.  Less tillage means less burning of fossil fuels and less disturbance to the delicate balance of microorganisms in our soils. Our primary goal in farming is to take more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and through photosynthesis, lock it up in the Earth’s crust as humus and organic matter.  Higher carbon levels in the soil are the number one weapon that we as humans have to reduce and eliminate the effects of a changing climate.”

Spotlight on Butterworks Farm

Butterworks Farm is basking in the glow of the Member Deals Spotlight this week and all of their local, organic, grass-fed dairy products are 20% off for member-owners from July 1st – July 7th. Read on to learn more about this local farm worked by three generations of the Lazor Family over 46 years to bring you high-quality products with a deep emphasis on regenerative practices that promote soil building, carbon sequestration, water retention, and biodiversity:

Over forty-six years ago, Jack and Anne Lazor came to Westfield, VT fresh out of college with degrees in Agricultural History (Jack) and Anthropology (Anne) and a desire to live “happily ever after as a couple of back-to-the-landers.” By 1979, the couple was selling yogurt, cottage cheese, and raw milk locally to a growing fan base. Over the next several decades, Jack and Anne continued to blaze new trail as leaders in organic farming, laying a firm foundation for the robust local food system whose fruits we’re lucky to enjoy today.

Along the way, Jack managed to find time to teach classes in organic agriculture at the University of Vermont, give frequent inspirational keynote addresses at organic farming conferences, fervently advocate for the adoption of organic practices, particularly within the dairy sector, and write a book called “The Organic Grain Grower” which Mother Earth News dubbed “the best resource we’ve seen for small-scale grain growers everywhere.” Jack was known for being an avid perpetual student as he and Anne exhaustively researched ways to farm with environmental stewardship at the forefront. 

In 2010, Jack was diagnosed with prostate cancer and spent seven years on dialysis for cancer-related kidney failure. Over that period of time, Anne kept Jack and the farm running, serving as Jack’s home dialysis technician and a caring presence for the entire Butterworks team. After a long and courageous fight, Jack lost his battle with cancer in November of 2020. Jack and Anne’s daughter Christine Lazor grew up at Butterworks Farm and now has a family of her own. A deep love for the team, the farm, the animals, the products, and the mountains keep her inspired as she and her family carry on the rich farming traditions that her parents began.

Jack & Anne Lazor

Anne and Jack Lazor were awarded NOFA’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 and were the first organic farmers to be inducted into the Vermont Agriculture Hall of Fame. NOFA-VT was also proud to launch a soil health cohort program this year to honor the legacy and wisdom of Jack Lazor. This cohort will promote farmer-to-farmer education and relationship building in an effort to address both short-term mitigation strategies around soil health as well as long-term systems change. This cohort will prioritize farmers who are, or wish to become great educators and will continue to share what they learn with other farmers through mentorship or by hosting workshops in the future. In this way, the funds will continue to pay it forward and honor Jack’s legacy for years to come. Several Addison County farmers including Chad & Morgan Beckwith of Ice House Farm were honored as part of the inaugural class of soil stewards. To see the full list, click here.

 

The lucky cows of Butterworks Farm are a herd of very friendly and sometimes precocious Jerseys. Each has her own name and stanchion in the barn during milking. Jerseys were chosen for their ability to produce exceptional milk on a 100% grass-fed diet. High fiber and mineral-rich grasses, legumes, and forages are always available to the cows in the lush, rotationally grazed pastures of summer and the sweet hay in the winter solar barn.

Their farming methods have evolved over the years. For the first forty years, they were grain growers and hay producers. Cereal crops such as oats, wheat, and barley, along with row crops like corn and soy fit neatly into their crop rotations with grasses and legumes. From the straw for the animals’ bedding to the grain the cows ate, everything was grown on the farm. Over the years, as their soil health and fertility increased, the quality of their forages improved until they realized that they could likely reduce the amount of grain that was being fed to the cows. By 2016, they had phased out grains completely and became a 100% grass-fed dairy, rotating the cows on fresh pasture every twelve hours.  

 

Jack shared in a Butterwork’s Farm blog post that, “our transition to 100% grass-fed is well worth it.  Despite the fact that we will need more land and sharpened management skills to do this, we are very happy to promote more grass and less grain (and subsequently less tillage) on the land that we steward.  More grass means more fibrous root systems in the soil.  Less grain means less tillage and better soil health.  Less tillage means less burning of fossil fuels and less disturbance to the delicate balance of microorganisms in our soils. Our primary goal in farming is to take more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and through photosynthesis, lock it up in the Earth’s crust as humus and organic matter.  Higher carbon levels in the soil are the number one weapon that we as humans have to reduce and eliminate the effects of a changing climate.”

Fiesta Roja Dog

While it’s tough to beat a classic hot dog with all the standard fixings, it can also be a lot of fun to merge a traditional hot dog with the flavors of other favorite comfort foods. With that in mind, we introduce you to the Fiesta Roja Dog, featuring the flavors of classic Latin American cuisine, including the namesake Fiesta Roja fermented curtido slaw made by our friends at Sobremesa and fresh tomatillo salsa made by our friends at Sonia’s Salsa. Our weekly sale from July 1st – 7th features Applegate Farms Natural Uncured Beef Hot Dogs and Bakerly Brioche hotdog buns, so pick up a pack of each and give the Fiesta Roja dog a try! 

Spotlight on Blue Ledge Farm

We’re thrilled to shine our Member Deals Spotlight on a local cheese-making family that produces incredible award-winning cow and goat’s milk cheeses, while also demonstrating a deep commitment to environmental stewardship — Blue Ledge Farm! From June 24th – 30th, member-owners can enjoy a 20% discount on all of Blue Ledge Farm’s delicious cheeses! Read on to learn more about Blue Ledge Farm and the family that brings it to life:

 

 

Blue Ledge Farm of Salisbury, VT is a first-generation, family-owned and operated, Animal Welfare Approved dairy and cheese-making operation established in 2000 by Hannah Sessions and Greg Bernhardt. Their mission is to create a high-quality product built on the cornerstones of respect for consumers, land, and animals as well as their local community. 

The team at Blue Ledge Farm

The farm began as a dream hatched by Hannah and Greg more than 20 years ago when they met in Florence, Italy while traveling throughout Europe to learn more about the arts and culture of the region. Upon returning home, the couple began transforming a retired dairy farm back into production with their Alpine and LaMancha dairy goats. They started with just four goats, but have grown and expanded over the years, now milking 125 goats twice daily and producing fourteen types of cheese, from very fresh to semi-aged bloomy rind cheeses, to firmer aged cheeses.

They also launched a partnership with neighboring MoSe Farm to produce a line of cow’s milk cheeses. Seth and Monika at MoSe Farm milk Ayrshire cows, a breed known for having superior milk for cheese-making. Twice a week Blue Ledge Farm receives a fresh milk delivery from MoSe Farm which is immediately processed into smooth, buttery Camembrie; creamy, yet crumbly Middlebury Blue; apple cider-washed Richville;  or their newest cheese, a gouda-style Moosalamoo. They also blend the cow’s milk with their goat’s milk to make an aged cheese known as Riley’s 2×4. 

Seth and Monika from MoSe Farm

In keeping with their mission, sustainable farming practices are a top priority at Blue Ledge Farm. They compost their bed-pack manure and apply it to their fields, thereby creating a closed-loop cycle from grass to goat and back to grass. The goats graze and forage throughout most of the year, which is healthy for the goats, healthy for the consumer, and beneficial to the environment. In 2008 they built an underground aging facility, or “cave”, allowing them to store cheese underground in a naturally cool and moist environment while using considerably less energy to keep the temperature and humidity at desirable levels. They have partnered with Efficiency Vermont on several projects over the years, from a variable-speed efficient milking machine, to more efficient cooling compressors, to newer fluorescent light bulbs, all in an effort to reduce environmental impact. At the heart of their operation is a clean-burning EPA-Approved bio-mass furnace, allowing them to heat their home, cheese-house, and barn, as well as all of the hot water used in the cheese plant, with locally-produced wood pellets! And In 2015 they covered the south-facing roof of their barn with solar panels which provide nearly half of the farm’s electricity usage all summer long!

Hannah and Greg made some incredibly nimble moves over the past year to pivot their business model in response to the challenges of the global pandemic, so much so that they caught the attention of the local news! With the mandatory closure of restaurants and institutions across the state, sales for Vermont’s specialty cheese producers dropped 50-70% almost overnight. As Hannah shared in a blog post last May, “we can’t furlough the goats or the cows and bring them back in a month! It’s spring, and the milk is flowing. If we are to survive we need to adapt.” The shift entailed adopting a direct-to-consumer model, and they found some very creative ways to get their cheeses directly to you, including the addition of a mini-fridge to their Salisbury farmstand where you can get farm-fresh cheeses all summer long! Those who aren’t lucky enough to live close by can order online or by phone and have their cheese shipped. 

Blue Ledge Farm installed a mini-fridge at their farm stand to keep their direct-to-consumer sales flowing.

 

Hannah adds that “we are so very grateful for the support of family, friends, and fellow cheese lovers from near and far who have bolstered our spirits and emptied our cheese supply throughout this challenge! We realize that we absolutely love selling direct to folks! We have worked on ways to create those “magical moments” so during these times of isolation folks can receive a carefully packed cheese package straight from our farm and feel our appreciation. The feedback we have received has kept us going.”

 

 

Spotlight on Vermont Soap

Vermont Soap is basking in the Member Deals Spotlight this week! From June 17th – 23rd, member-owners can enjoy a 20% discount on all of their organic, locally made body care and cleaning products, so it’s a great time to stock up and save. Read on to learn more about this company on a mission to help us keep clean using natural non-toxic alternatives to the chemical-based personal care products on the market:

 

 

History

More than 20 years ago, Vermont Soap Founder and self-proclaimed “Soapman” Larry Plesant bought a small environmental products company that also manufactured small amounts of liquid castile soap. The purchase covered little more than the castile soap recipe and a machine that filled the bottles, but the price was right, and the Soapman never looked back. He was driven to create natural soap products as a result of his own challenges with sensitive skin and the lack of options available at the time for individuals who experienced adverse reactions to chemical detergents. From these humble beginnings sprang a vibrant local business that now produces dozens of home and body care products and ships them across the US and beyond. 

These days, Vermont Soap has grown by leaps and bounds but continues to pride itself on producing high-quality Certified Organic alternatives to the often irritating, chemical, and detergent-based personal care products now in general use. They manufacture handmade cold process bar soaps for sensitive skin, liquid soaps for body care and home care, the first truly organic shower gels, numerous organic nontoxic cleaners, and much more. As a member of the 1% For The Planet network, Vermont Soap pledges 1% of its sales to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment.

Their website has a handy tool to help you determine your skin type and learn which of their products are best suited to you. Their blog also offers a wealth of resources to help you make the most of your personal and home care products.

Mission Statement:

  • Vermont Soap recognizes that human beings are now at a critical juncture in relation to our planet and that viable alternatives must be created to lead us into a sustainable future.
  • Vermont Soap was created to manufacture and market high-quality, unique and natural personal care products of usefulness and value; and to be an example of how corporations can be a tool for positive social change.
  • Vermont Soap emphasizes the wholeness and integration of the company departments through communication, participation in the growth process, and acceptance of responsibility among co-workers.
  • Vermont Soap pledges to conduct business in an environmentally aware manner emphasizing reuse and recycling, the use of natural base ingredients, and the application of appropriate technology.

 

Vermont Soap’s Ecological Mindset from Terrier Tenacity on Vimeo.

Spotlight on Crowley Cheese

Local cheesemaker Crowley Cheese started churning out wheels of cheddar from the Crowley family kitchen way back in 1824, making it the very first Vermont cheese! Our Member Deals Spotlight shines brightly on Crowley Cheese from June 10th – 16th and all varieties of their cheddar cheese are 20% off for Member-Owners during that week! Read on to learn more about the rich history of this local cheese company and their commitment to producing exceptional cheddar cheese for nearly two centuries:

According to their website, award-winning Crowley Cheese has been made in the Green Mountains of Vermont from the same recipe, in the same manner, since 1824. Hand-made the old-fashioned way, it’s cheese the way it used to be — all-natural, with no additives or preservatives. Pure, simple, delicious: cheese that everyone will love.

Crowley Cheese is made by hand using traditional methods first used by company founder Winfield Crowley. The cheese originates from fresh, whole, unpasteurized milk from cows that are certified BST and BGH-free and is made without additives or preservatives. The texture is distinctively smooth and creamy and the flavor is often described as cheddar “without the bite.”

Crowley’s cheesemaking history originally began in the Crowley Farm kitchen in Healdville, Vermont, in 1824. By 1882, they’d outgrown the kitchen and Winfield Crowley built the present-day Crowley Cheese Factory –  now recognized as A National Historic Place – making it the oldest continuously operating cheese factory in America. Over a century ago, when the Vermont landscape was dotted with dairy farms, Crowley Cheese was one of many small cheese producers flourishing in the state. At that time, almost every Vermont village had at least one cheese manufacturer; some villages had as many as six cheesemakers. Because refrigeration was yet to be invented, farmers were unable to store surplus milk, and so they would wisely bring their excess milk to the nearest local cheesemaker to make something out of it — cheese!

Historic Crowley Cheese Factory in Healdville, VT

By the early part of the twentieth century, the unique qualities that attracted Crowley’s first believers in Vermont were being tasted and cherished by people all over the East Coast. The first Vermont cheese was born, and Crowley Cheese started a romance that would turn into a full-fledged love affair as the century came to a close.

Today, nearly 200 years later, Crowley Cheese continues to make one of the finest cheeses in America and the recipe remains unchanged. They invite you to visit their original cheese factory to get a glimpse of the cheesemaking process and tour the historic building that echoes with the rich history of the family business. They usually make cheese three days during the week – typically Tuesday through Thursday – but the schedule can be variable, so they suggest calling ahead to confirm production is underway if you wish to see the cheesemaking action in progress. Of course, they welcome you any day of the week to check out the facility, sample their tasty cheeses, and browse the factory gift shop. They’re typically open Monday-Friday, 8 am – 4 pm and Saturday-Sunday 10 am – 4 pm. 

A present look at the oldest continuously running cheese factory in America – Crowley Cheese

To learn more, be sure to visit their website and don’t miss their collection of recipes, from mac and cheese to frittatas, showcasing the best qualities of their cheeses in a variety of meals. 

Co-op Connection Featured Business – Honey Wax Bar

It has been a very long year of pandemic isolation, where perhaps our only social interactions occurred on a screen and our only occasion to put real pants on was for a drive into town to pick up takeout. It’s easy to see how our self-care and grooming routines, aimed at helping us feel like the best, most vibrant versions of ourselves, may have fallen by the wayside. Now that we’re beginning to collectively emerge from this period of hibernation, returning to in-person meetings, job interviews, and safe social gatherings, we happen to think it’s a great time to visit our featured Co-op Connection business for June – Honey Wax Bar! They offer a generous 10% discount to card-carrying Co-op member-owners through the Co-op Connection program, so what are you waiting for?! Read on to learn more about Honey Wax Bar and the skilled esthetician who is excited to help you feel your confident best, no matter the occasion:

 

Honey Wax Bar founder and owner Hannah Zeno felt called to this line of work by a desire to make all things beautiful and an understanding that real beauty begins within. Her path to becoming a holistic esthetician began by studying nutrition and coaching at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in NYC and an extensive yoga teacher training program to learn more about the foundations of balance and strength. She studied esthetics for almost a decade with continuing education in makeup, oncology, chemical peels, and most recently lash lifting and microblading. Hannah strives to transform her clients into the most outstanding and glowing version of themselves, helping them feel beautiful from the inside out.

Holistic Esthetician Hannah Zeno, photographed by Elisabeth Waller Photography

Formally known as Honey Holistic Esthetics, Honey Wax Bar is Middlebury’s local go-to waxing and permanent make-up beauty bar. They offer a range of services, from waxing to brow tinting to lash lifting and microblading, all intended to gently assist you along your journey to feeling your absolute most radiant self. Whether you are preparing for your honeymoon or in search of a quick pick-me-up, Honey Wax Bar provides the services to make you more confident in your new bikini or outfit behind closed doors. Located right in the heart of Middlebury, VT overlooking the river, Honey Wax Bar prides itself on its convenient booking system, especially for Middlebury College Students who can book their waxing appointment in between classes.

According to Hannah, “it is a pleasure to work with women and men who come to me looking for a change and want to explore more about the world of health and beauty. When a client makes an appointment, we focus not only on their immediate needs but also long-term beauty goals. My clients are the reason I’m at Honey!” To view their full menu of services, visit them online at honeywaxbarmiddlebury.com. To book an appointment now, text Hannah Zeno at 802-989-9122 or request an appointment online. 

 

Spotlight on Crowley Cheese

Local cheesemaker Crowley Cheese started churning out wheels of cheddar from the Crowley family kitchen way back in 1824, making it the very first Vermont cheese! Our Member Deals Spotlight shines brightly on Crowley Cheese from June 10th – 16th and all varieties of their cheddar cheese are 20% off for Member-Owners during that week! Read on to learn more about the rich history of this local cheese company and their commitment to producing exceptional cheddar cheese for nearly two centuries:

According to their website, award-winning Crowley Cheese has been made in the Green Mountains of Vermont from the same recipe, in the same manner, since 1824. Hand-made the old-fashioned way, it’s cheese the way it used to be — all-natural, with no additives or preservatives. Pure, simple, delicious: cheese that everyone will love.

Crowley Cheese is made by hand using traditional methods first used by company founder Winfield Crowley. The cheese originates from fresh, whole, unpasteurized milk from cows that are certified BST and BGH-free and is made without additives or preservatives. The texture is distinctively smooth and creamy and the flavor is often described as cheddar “without the bite.”

Crowley’s cheesemaking history originally began in the Crowley Farm kitchen in Healdville, Vermont, in 1824. By 1882, they’d outgrown the kitchen and Winfield Crowley built the present-day Crowley Cheese Factory –  now recognized as A National Historic Place – making it the oldest continuously operating cheese factory in America. Over a century ago, when the Vermont landscape was dotted with dairy farms, Crowley Cheese was one of many small cheese producers flourishing in the state. At that time, almost every Vermont village had at least one cheese manufacturer; some villages had as many as six cheesemakers. Because refrigeration was yet to be invented, farmers were unable to store surplus milk, and so they would wisely bring their excess milk to the nearest local cheesemaker to make something out of it — cheese!

Historic Crowley Cheese Factory in Healdville, VT

By the early part of the twentieth century, the unique qualities that attracted Crowley’s first believers in Vermont were being tasted and cherished by people all over the East Coast. The first Vermont cheese was born, and Crowley Cheese started a romance that would turn into a full-fledged love affair as the century came to a close.

Today, nearly 200 years later, Crowley Cheese continues to make one of the finest cheeses in America and the recipe remains unchanged. They invite you to visit their original cheese factory to get a glimpse of the cheesemaking process and tour the historic building that echoes with the rich history of the family business. They usually make cheese three days during the week – typically Tuesday through Thursday – but the schedule can be variable, so they suggest calling ahead to confirm production is underway if you wish to see the cheesemaking action in progress. Of course, they welcome you any day of the week to check out the facility, sample their tasty cheeses, and browse the factory gift shop. They’re typically open Monday-Friday, 8 am – 4 pm and Saturday-Sunday 10 am – 4 pm. 

A present look at the oldest continuously running cheese factory in America – Crowley Cheese

To learn more, be sure to visit their website and don’t miss their collection of recipes, from mac and cheese to frittatas, showcasing the best qualities of their cheeses in a variety of meals.