Cheese with Dignity
If you believe the world could use a little more compassion, equity, and kindness right now, then you are in the right place. This is the underpinning of our new Farmer Cheese, which we call “Cheese with Dignity.” The dignity we speak of is about standing up for farmers and their hardworking farm teams to ensure equitable wages, time off, and dignified working conditions. We count on these farm workers every single day here in Vermont…hard-working people who are milking our cows and tending to the herd before the sun is even up, and as it sets every single day.
Community at Its Best
So what did we do? We approached the need the way Vermonters always do, in community. We put our heads together with the farm worker leaders behind the Milk with Dignity Program to explore how our local food hub system could be part of the solution. One by one, a world-class local cheesemaker raised his hand to join, along with a local organic dairy farmer, and even a local herb farmer jumped in to add a special Vermont touch to this cheese. Our thinking is that more people want to see our local farms succeed, and that our local and migrant workers should be treated with the dignity they deserve. Included in the price of a block of Cheese with Dignity is a premium paid directly to farms to ensure that workers enjoy the fair wages and dignified conditions guaranteed by Milk with Dignity’s farmworker-authored Code of Conduct
The Partners
Migrant Justice is a Vermont-based non-profit organization founded and led by immigrant dairy workers. Migrant Justice created the Milk with Dignity Program, a partnership between farmworkers, farm owners, and companies to secure dignified working conditions in the dairy industry. Farmworkers created a Code of Conduct that sets standards for wages, hours, benefits, health & safety protections, and more. Conditions on farms are monitored by an independent third-party organization - the Milk with Dignity Standards Council - which works with employers and employees to meet the Program's standards.
Vermont Way Foods has joined Milk with Dignity to produce its Cheese with Dignity line. We pay a premium on the price of milk to support the dignified conditions achieved by the Program. We hope that our participation will inspire other dairy brands to follow our lead. Together, we can all help to build a new day for human rights in dairy.
Our Farms
Severy Farm
Severy Farm is a certified organic grass-fed dairy farm located in Cornwall, VT, that has been in operation for almost 50 years. Head farmer, Nate Severy, grew up on the farm as his Dad, Joseph Severy, had the foresight to transition from conventional to organic dairy. This helped to pave the way for the farm to proudly become 100% grassfed dairy operation fueled by Nate’s education and passion for regenerative practices. Nate and his wife, Kerianne, are managing the farm today as they raise their young family of three children, surrounded by Vermont's beauty.
They raise Jersey and Jersey-Ayrshire cows, which are great grazers that convert 100% grass feed into delicious milk with a high butterfat content. High-quality milk is ideal for cheese production. Their milk is sold to a local cheesemaker, Champlain Valley Creamery, and to Organic Valley.
Severy Farm has enrolled in the Milk with Dignity Program, ensuring that its workforce benefits from the dignified conditions enshrined in the Code of Conduct. They believe it is simply the right way to farm and to take care of our hard-working farm workers.
Champlain Valley Creamery
Champlain Valley Creamery handcrafts certified organic, award-winning cheese, recognized by the American Cheese Society. They produce a range of rich, delicious cheeses, including fresh, soft-ripened and hard aged varieties. A fan favorite is their Organic Champlain Triple, a rich triple cream with a bloomy rind, which won an American Cheese Society award. Another award winner is their old-fashioned Organic Cream cheese that will take your everyday bagel to the next level. All their specialty cheeses are handcrafted, organic, and fresh from the farm to your table.
Carleton Yoder is the owner and head cheesemaker at the creamery in Middlebury, VT. He is a talented entrepreneur who does it all along with his dedicated team. This includes early-morning milk pickups from Severy Farm and long afternoons spent delivering cheese. His talent shines as an artisan cheesemaker, coaxing magic out of Vermont’s amazing local milk daily. Vermont Way Foods is honored to work with Carleton.
Carleton also let us in on his secret passion for this herbed, Farmer Cheese. It has become his go-to Friday night pizza topper! He starts with a fresh pizza dough, adds a zesty tomato sauce, maybe a bit of Maple Bacon (after all, it is Vermont!), and then spreads thin slices of Farmer cheese on top with some fresh herbs. Bake it until the cheese is melty and bubbly, golden brown. Voila, pizza perfection from the cheesemaker!
Free Verse Farm & Apothecary
Free Verse Farm & Apothecary is a small organic farm and apothecary in the hills of central Vermont offering farm-grown and handcrafted teas, spices, bulk herbs, herbal remedies, body care products, and CSA subscriptions. Free Verse Farm is a co-creation of Taylor Katz and Misha Johnson, two artists/farmers passionate about growing, eating, and sharing delicious, nourishing food and herbs.
Their vision combines their love of farming with their natural impulses to create art and connect with the earth. It is their dream to grow a wide variety of herbs, to grow food for themselves and their neighbors, and to cultivate a meaningful relationship with their community and with the land from which they both derive nourishment, pleasure, and peace.
Their herbs are hand-harvested and freshly dried on the farm. Taylor and Misha take the utmost care to preserve the essential constituents that give each herb its flavor, potency, and magic. The blend used in this cheese is called “Herbs de Vermont,” which includes a perfectly balanced blend of Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, and Savory. Try this on roasted organic veggies, in meat marinades, and in your farm-fresh omelets.
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