Keswick Creamery reaches to save business

A Keswick table displays Tomme cheese samples.

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Family farms often face an uphill climb just to reach level ground. For Keswick Creamery, that hike just got steeper. Rather than give in, the popular artisan farmstead cheese makers who sell at six area farmers markets have devised a way to keep their livelihood going.

Mel and Mark Dietrich Cochran, who run the creamery, recently learned that they have until September 1 to raise $300,000. If they do not hit the goal, Mel’s father will opt to continue with his plan of selling off the equipment and shuttering the operation. The Dietrich Cochrans have looked to a community-supported agriculture (CSA) model and an online ordering tool to sell shares in their business. Each purchase of a Keswick Creamery Cheese CSA share brings them closer to continuing the family business.

Buying into the business goes beyond purchasing dairy products, says Crossroads Farmers Market staff member Michele Levy. “Not only do they run an inspiring business model and make the best chocolate pudding around, but Mark and Mel are also passionate activists,” Levy wrote in an email to farmers market supporters. They are “working literally around the clock to up the quotient of sustainable deliciousness throughout the Mid-Atlantic area,” she wrote.

Here’s how the CSA works: Cheese, yogurt, and pudding fans can buy a five-year share in the farm for a discount. Each share, valued from $250 to $1,500, allows the buyer to spend vouchers on any combination of products at local farmers markets or have a box of products shipped to his or her home each year. The $250 share sells for $200, and buyers receive $50 worth of products each year. The discount compounds with the larger shares. CSA shareholders can redeem vouchers at any of Keswick’s farmers markets: Dupont Circle, Takoma Park, Bloomingdale, Carlisle, or the FRESHFARM markets by the White House and on H St. NE.

For more information, visit the Keswick Creamery website.