In an age of iPads and American Idol, I take great comfort in having . . . a milkman. Every two weeks, Carter Beck of Simple Provisions pulls up in his truck and leaves a crate of fresh dairy on my stoop. It’s like Christmas:
The glass jugs of certified-organic milk and cream are from Crystal Ball Farms, a family-owned establishment in the St. Croix River Valley. The eggs are lovingly laid by free-range hens that feast on organic feed at Philadelphia Community Farm in Osceola, Wisconsin. I don’t normally display my dairy in the grass, but:
Isn’t that how it should look? And the taste! Rich, sweet, a little bit grassy—all the flavors you miss with mass-produced, week-old dairy.
Through its partnership with local farmers and food artisans, Simple Provisions also offers fair-trade coffee, bread, and, coming soon: poultry and grass-fed beef. Prices are comparable to the organic goods you can buy in stores, but everything is local, sustainably produced, and—let’s be honest—delivered.
