Marty Mundy, the executive director of the Vermont Cheese Council, says the closure of stores and restaurants due to the Covid-19 crisis has cut Vermont cheese sales by 50% to 70% in the last few weeks.
So Mundy has created an online cheese directory to help consumers find local cheese. Mundy says cheese is a $650 million industry in Vermont. Business shutdowns create a unique challenge for cheesemakers, because their animals are continuing to produce milk.
“How consumers choose to spend their money during this time will have a big impact on the sustainability of local dairy farmers and the cheese industry in the region,” Mundy said.
Cheesemakers are in a particularly tight spot now that businesses have been ordered to close down, because animals continue to produce milk. Some dairies are dumping excess milk because the market for it has been reduced.
“That means that either cheesemakers continue making cheese, without a sufficient market for their cheeses, or they discard or divert their incoming milk supply,” said Munday. “Neither situation is sustainable for even a short period of time.”
Mundy has worked with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture and cheesemakers to come up with its online sales directory.
— Anne Wallace Allen
