HILLSBORO, Ore. (KOIN) — Before supermarkets and modern convenience stores, many people had milk delivered right to their door. You don’t see old fashioned milk bottles very often today, but one local family is bringing the idea back to life.
“We weren’t sure how it would all work,” Casey Schoch with Schoch Dairy & Creamery said. “It was a leap of faith that we decided we could do this.”
Casey and Dave Schoch used to run a 200 cow operation at their Helvetia dairy farm.
But due to the milk market’s tumultuous nature, a few years ago, they decided to make a change. They downsized their herd to 20 and purchased a bottling machine from the 1950s and a pasteurizing vat from the 1960s.
“We tore it all down and refurbished it all and made it work,” Dave Schoch said.
They turned to new technology to help raise money for their venture. They received more than $50,000 on Kickstarter, and now they’re in the bottled milk business.
From 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. customers can stop by Schoch Dairy & Creamery to buy bottled milk. It costs $4 a bottle, with a $2 bottle deposit the first time.
“Bring the empties back,” Casey told a customer. “Leave those here, we resanitize.”
It’s all based on an honor system: Customers leave their money in a can in the fridge. Casey and Dave say it’s brought back a connection that’s missing in modern times.
“We do lots of field trips out here and I’ll ask kids, ‘Where does milk come from?’ and they’ll say ‘Costco, the grocery store,'” Casey said. “They’re not connected with it.”
And of course, there’s the fresh taste.
“Oh my God that is so good,” customer Janessa Mast said. “That’s like real milk straight from the cow.”
To learn more about Schoch Dairy & Creamery, click here.