Dairy lovers, take note. That\u2019s no rooster dis- turbing your pre-dawn dreams. It\u2019s a milkman. He\u2019s back.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re a Baby Boomer, you probably had a milkman long ago. If you\u2019re a Gen-Xer or Millennial, you may not know a milk chute from a milk shake\u2014but you\u2019ve probably patronized a food truck and understand the appeal of mobile vendors. Today\u2019s milkman\u2014 or woman\u2014is simultaneously retro and modern, providing old-fashioned, face-to-face delivery in an age in which fresh and utterly personal foods are back in style.<\/p>\n
Milkmen were common across the United States in the mid-20th century. In those days, everything from dairy to dry cleaning showed up at the door. Refrigerators were small, so milkmen often delivered more than once a week. Typically, stay-at-home moms were there to receive the goods. But as refrigeration improved and more women joined the workforce, milk was increasingly store-bought. In some parts of the country, milkmen disappeared altogether.<\/p>\n
Fast-forward to this century. Young consumers who demand quality and convenience are turning back to the milkman. And they\u2019re willing to bear an additional cost\u2014whether it\u2019s a flat fee per delivery or a slight upcharge on milk (although sometimes the price is lower than retail for hormone-free or organic products).<\/p>\n
No one tracks exactly how many milkmen roll today, but they\u2019re out there from coast to coast. Smith Brothers Farms, which no longer maintains cows, but has delivered milk in the Kent, Washington, area since 1920, runs 50 routes per week, serving 40,000 customers. Lincoln Park, Michigan-based Calder Dairy gets the goods to 2,000 customers on 21 routes. South Mountain Creamery in Maryland racks up more than 8,000 deliveries in four states.<\/p>\n
The popularity of milk delivery today is partly due to nostalgia, says food historian and George Mason University associate professor Gabriella Petrick, \u201ceven if it\u2019s nostalgia for something imagined. Having milk delivered somehow feels like you\u2019re closer to the farm. Having a person who brings you milk gives a sense that there\u2019s something better about it. It becomes personal food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over time, milkmen may again seem like constants in customers\u2019 lives. In some cases (and with customers\u2019 permission), they let themselves in to stock the family fridge. They see their customers in their bathrobes, and make friends with family pets (Smith Brothers milkmen hand out 17,000 dog treats monthly).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe delivered during Hurricane Sandy when everything else closed,\u201d says Frank Acosta, co-founder of Manhattan Milk. \u201cEveryone was so appreciative.\u201d<\/p>\n
As it happens, home delivery requires that milkmen also be musclemen. \u201cA case of milk weighs about 45 pounds,\u201d says Annie Calder, general manager of Calder Dairy. \u201cDrivers come in at 5 a.m., load their trucks, deliver to 100 stops, then come back in the afternoon and unload.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith Brothers\u2019 Gina Shields loads her truck at 1:30 a.m., with crates holding nine half-gallon milk cartons (each weighing four pounds), plus eggs, bread, cheese (including three varieties of Beecher\u2019s Handmade Cheese), and other goods. “There are days when I’m in and out of the truck 150 times,\u201d says Shields, one of Smith Brothers\u2019 two milkwomen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe carry milk up a good number of stairs,\u201d says Manhattan Milk\u2019s Acosta. \u201cThe average building is five to 10 flights and we average five of those buildings per day, so [up] to 100 flights just climbing. That\u2019s how we stay in shape.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Acosta doesn\u2019t mind the workout, nor does he mind schlepping milk bottles throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn in the wee hours. He grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and though he has no memories of early-morning visits from the milkman, he\u2019s proud to create them for his customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople like having milk outside their door,\u201d Acosta says. \u201cThey want it there when they wake up.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fueled by nostalgia and an interest in sustainability, milk delivery regains popularity and milkmen are on the rise<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[589],"tags":[],"coauthors":[104],"class_list":["post-8857","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cheese-talk"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n