I was in my local Whole Foods market last week and was about to pick up a regular plastic gallon jug of milk when I found the most glorious milk in the world from Homestead Creamery.
Homestead Creamery milk comes in lovely glass bottles
According a blog post from Whole Foods, all the milk at Homestead Creamery comes from two local farms, both in their third and fourth generations of family ownership. This milk is free of all hormones and antibiotics, and because the milk is sold in old-fashioned recycled glass bottles it tastes fresher longer and is more environmentally friendly.
The selection at my Whole Foods includes whole, creamline, 2%, skim, half and half, buttermilk and chocolate. Even their skim milk is creamy and delicious. Now my daughter looks for it and calls it her “special milk”. We also purchased their chocolate milk which is divine.
To top it all off, you receive $2.oo back per bottle when you return them to Whole Foods after use. This makes the price of this really fresh milk very competitive with what we are used to paying.
You hear that folks? There are NO excuses not to buy this milk.
Let’s do the math:
1 Gallon of regular milk in a plastic jug from my local Giant grocery store: $3.79
1 Gallon of Homestead Creamery milk in lovely glass jars: $3.79
(there is a one-time, first-purchase deposit $2.00 for glass bottle)
Net price when you return your empty glass bottle: $1.79
Cost differential: $2.00 savings after initial purchase.
Other benefits:
- No hormones or antibiotics
- Local producer reduces impact on the environment
- Milk from Happy Cows
- No container waste
- Stays fresher longer
- Comes in pretty glass bottles
When in the neighborhood, you can visit Homestead Creamery:
7254 Booker T. Washington Highway, Wirtz 24184
Phone: 540.721.2045
Mon., Tues., Thurs., Fri. 11:00AM to 5:00 PM
Saturday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Closed Wednesday and Sunday
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Now I need to check to see what’s in the dairy case at my Whole Foods.
My family supports the raw milk movement. We drink milk from our goats as well as from jersey cows. We participate in a cow share program with a lovely women who has 5 beautiful cows that are only grass fed. No commercial feed or corn. The milk is unbelievable. Thick with fat layers of cream in every bottle. Pasteurization kills off bad bacteria but it also kills the good stuff and changes the long chain proteins beneficial to your health. I applaud the efforts of those trying to remain hormone and antibiotic free but I would prefer a real movement in the changes in the state regulations. A few states do allow the sale of raw milk as a consumer choice. Virginia is not one of them. Commercial milk is essentially ‘dead’ nutrition.
Angie- Thanks for your comments. Allowing consumers to make the choice and having more options (including raw milk) would be great – and probably helpful for the producers as well. For those who do drink milk regularly, at least choosing a locally produced, hormone and antibiotic-free option is a better option than the mass-produced stuff.
I agree 100%. I want each of us to be able to make the choice that is best for our families. We drink a lot of milk and use it to make other dairy products. I choose what we consume. No gov’t agency should be making those decisions for us.
Ummm…I’m drinking the whole creamline milk from Homestead Creamery as I type this, and I’ve bought it many times before, but I think it is actually $3.79 + $2.00 deposit making the first purchase $5.79. I don’t know that $3.79 is correct, just that I’m 87% sure it is not so inexpensive as $1.79. Other than that, you’re absolutely right – my favorite part is first opening the milk and scooping up a spoonful of cream! So worth it.
Not only that but I believe the bigger glass container that you have featured in the picture is a 1/2 gallon. They don’t sell gallons at the Whole Foods I shop at (and I imagine the bottle would be HUGE). The one I have is a half gallon and it’s the largest size. Just clarifying.
Are the cows that produce milk for Homestead fed a non-gmo grain? Whole Foods did not know and it is not included on the bottle. We have a local farm producing their own milk that is also bottled in glass bottles outside of Remington….however, their cows are grain fed and it (the grain) is not free of gmo’s. So what exactly is the point? Buy local buy fresh does not always equate to what is best.
I really want to try this. Any idea of the nutritional information of their products?
yea, u did that math wrong. its plus the $2 so you don’t save u just break even. and u have to pay it on every gallon, not just the first. i like the idea too but i think the $2 is a bit deceptive. i mean no one understands it right, it shouldnt be there. period.
I would like to know if you carry Buttermilk in the Richmond, VA. area. I would love to purchase some of you buttermilk if you do carry it somewhere close in the area.