Milk Bottle Policy Change

I need to share an important update about bottles at drop sites.

Over the last three weeks, 47 milk bottles have been returned dirty at drop sites. I’ve spent many extra hours rewashing bottles by hand with acid to get them clean, and I’m simply worn down. Because of this, we will no longer be offering glass bottles at drop sites.

Milk at drop sites will now be plastic only. Plastic jugs are not returnable — you’ll recycle them and receive a new jug each pickup.
Yogurt and cream will continue in glass, as those bottles have consistently been returned clean.

This does affect pricing. Our operating costs increased over the past year, and we’ve been carrying those costs until now. Combined with the switch to plastic jugs, the new price for a milk share will be $9, which includes the cost of the jug.

If you strongly prefer glass, milk in glass bottles will still be available for farm pickup only, on our regular every-other-week schedule:
Wednesdays or Thursdays, 8 am–8 pm (either day). We’ll continue offering glass at the farm as long as bottles are returned clean there.

If you currently have glass milk bottles, you did pay a deposit on them. We will return your bottle deposit at your next pickup, unless you would prefer to keep your bottles and switch to farm pickup to continue receiving milk in glass. If you plan to do that, please let me know.

I want you to know this wasn’t an easy decision. I truly don’t like moving away from glass, but because we are handling raw milk, I have to be extremely conscientious about cleanliness and safety. I need to protect both the integrity of the milk and my time and energy to both serve my family and keep the dairy running well.

Thank you for understanding and for your continued support — it really does mean a lot.