After an 11-hour day of working, commuting, picking up their two kids at day care and making dinner, Tom and Karen Chisari of Long Valley, N.J., would groan at the final chore remaining: the weekly 10 p.
m. milk run. They don't have to groan anymore.
The milkman, who seemed to disappear along with black-and-white television, is making a comeback. Six months ago, the Chisaris discovered their neighborhood has Frank O'Brien, a milkman willing to deliver milk to their home. "I didn't even know this existed," said Tom Chisari, 38, an insurance underwriter.
"It's a lifesaver." Milk delivery services from Maine to Washington state report a growing customer base as they tap into Americans' desire for local produce and overwhelmed dual-working families looking for relief. Home delivery shrank to less than 1% of the market by the 1990s, according to the U.
S. Department of Agriculture. While a 2005 government survey did not show an increase, anecdotal evidence suggests the service is growing.
Oberweis Dairy in North Aurora, Ill., is expanding its 35,000 home delivery operation to include distribution to Detroit this month. Nine years ago, Oberweis was a $20 million operation with 20,000 home customers, Oberweis President Bob Renaut said.
Today, it is a $60 million company harnessing the nostalgia of hormone-free milk delivered in glass bottles. "We are growing because of the quality of the product," Renaut said. "We're also providing a service that's valued, especially in two-income families since this offers them some convenience.
" Most milk delivery is still done by men, said Renaut, who recalled having only two women deliver for his company in the past eight years. Smith Brothers Farms in Kent, Wash., which serves 40,000 homes, has grown 5% annually in the past five years, said David Dorn, operations manager.
Crescent Ridge Dairy in Sharon, Mass., which delivers milk to 6,000 homes in the Boston metro area, is expanding service to meet the demand for organic dairy products and prepared meals, owner Mark Parrish said. "The biggest challenge for us is marketing.
The majority of new customers still come from referrals." Jim Carroll of the International Home Delivery Association said dairies that actively pursue new customers and diversify their product lines are seeing rewards. He also said those that let customers place orders online see consistently larger minimum orders.
Average milk prices are edging closer to $4 nationally. For the month of August, the USDA reported the national average price for a gallon of whole milk jumped to $3.87, from $3.
55 in June. At those prices, Carroll said, an extra 50 cents per gallon for home delivery doesn't seem outrageous. "People want it," said Carroll, also an independent consultant with 30 years in the business.
"It's not so much a matter of pricing, it's about whether you want the convenience." Regina Kishbauch, 80, of Chatham Township, N.J.
, never sees her milkman, but her milk, eggs, butter and half-and-half appear at her door every Thursday morning. "I don't know what I'd do without him," Kishbauch said. "He's never missed a day.
" Bruno reports for the Daily Record in Morristown, N.J.
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