We've been Calder home delivery customers for a couple of years and love the service. Stan is wonderful, of course, and so is the milk. So is not lugging those heavy glass bottles home from the store (or lugging them back). Receiving our heaviest item by delivery gives us the option of doing more of the rest of our grocery shopping by bike.
I do wish that Calder carried plain yogurt - right now they have some kind of sweetened drinkable yogurt, which I'm sure is delicious, but not what I want.
And I SO wish that Calder had an online order change service. Every time I need to change my order - which is quite often - I have to call up the dairy and hope they get it right. They do, mostly, but I yearn for an automated web page that I could use in the middle of the night, when most of my household organization (such as it is) happens.
Hi Deb
Your thoughts echo my own exactly! I don't understand why they don't have plain yogurt. When I asked the woman about it on the phone she said "Yes, we have plain yogurt." But I've had this yogurt so I asked her - "And does it have sugar?" "Of course it's sweetened, but it doesn't have any fruit at all." OK. No plain yogurt. Also, I would call this "drinkable yogurt" by the other name I've heard - isn't it actually kefir?
Anyways, I'm also very happy about not having to trundle home those heavy bottles on my bike. That's been a discouragement from biking that I don't have to worry about now. And I'm with you on the online thing too. Oh well, baby steps.
Kim
Oh, this sounds wonderful. I wonder if they deliver their ice cream and egg nog, too? The egg nog is outrageous (but, thankfully, only around at Christmas). Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
BTW... I believe that Plum carries their milk, cottage cheese, butter and whipping cream and some other products, as well.
Also, this is an odd thing - Nick Roumel did a price comparison of various markets in the area and found the PFC was one of the most expensive out there. And that was without his two big ticket meat purchases. I was pretty shocked. It wasn't exactly scientific, though. It's in the June Current.
Oh, and THANK YOU for the e-mail response - I'm having a disorganized day.
Have you tried their chocolate milk? We have a neighbor who gets Calder milk delivered. one day my husband saw someone chasing down the delivery truck to see if they could get some chocolate milk!
By the way, I *think* both Arbor Farms and Busch's carry Calder milk.
Jen, I believe Calder delivers pretty much everything they produce. I seem to remember one restriction on receiving ice cream by home delivery - maybe you have to be at home for that one, rather than leaving ice in a cooler?
I have also found the Co-op to be the most expensive grocery store, even for bulk items, although the comparison is less marked in that department. I understand why that is, and try not to mind too much, because of course it is a business so very much worth supporting. However, I do believe that they were ill-advised for this very reason to eliminate their volunteer discount, which evened out the playing field a little bit.
Calder will deliver eggs, whipping cream, and orange juice too.
A trip to the farm is well worth it - we took a batch of kids there and saw a calf being born as well as enjoying some ice cream from the ice cream parlor they have there. It's a real farm with a bunch of assorted farm animals in addition to the cows (I remember a handful each of pigs, rabbits, cats, all in their places).
Jen - I've had a hard time finding a place that carries Calder cream - Morgan and York is the only place I know that has it or the other stuff. I haven't found a reason yet to shop at Plum.
Tricia - I have tried Calder's chocolate milk and it is very rich. However, I don't buy it partly because I think they use high fructose corn syrup in it and all their sweetened products. I need to start lobbying them on changing that. Why can't they use some Michigan beet sugar at least?
Deb - Were you surprised they printed that ridiculous article in Current about the most and least expensive grocery stores in town? That was the most idiotic random comparison I've ever seen!
However, what bugged me most about it is what bugs me every time people talk about the high cost of something like food. Food is only cheap, and can only be cheap when it is either A) subsidized or B) doesn't include the externalized costs like water pollution, soil depletion, or farm workers' health. Once we start looking at the *true cost* of food (have you seen the articles talking about a "triple bottom line" that includes environmental and social costs?) I think places like the Co-op and Meijer will switch places on the most expensive/least expensive continuum. ARGHHHH. That drives me CRAZY.
Also, I got a $53.00 rebate check from the Co-op as my member discount on what I'd spent for the year. That's real money.
Ed - that sounds like a pretty exciting trip to Calder! I would definitely want to schedule my trip to see a calf being born. 
Kim
I have found that Calder cream has a short shelf life, since it is not ultrapasteurized as most grocery store cream is. So I try to order it with a specific use in mind.
One of their interesting offerings is their Creamline milk, whole, unhomogenized. I tipped off the creamy top and used in creamed chicken on noodles. Even the remainder was very creamy and so fresh tasting, to drink or use in coffee. I think it would be great for homemade yogurt or ricotta.
Hi Buttercup - you're right on the short shelf life. I had to put some cream into the freezer because of that and now I'm wondering what I'm going to do with it. I had been planning to make ice cream, but just didn't get to it before we had to go out of town. Eeek!
Kim
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