The Search for Goat Milk

For years Joel’s chiropractor, Dr. Petrice Foxworthy of Cambridge Chiropractic, said that his hayfever-type allergies were probably aggravated by cow’s milk. About 18 months ago Joel switched to goat’s milk instead and found out Dr. Petrice was correct.

Cutting cow’s milk and other products made from cow’s milk from his diet helped alleviate some of the allergy sypmtoms. Now each morning in his tea he has a bit of goat’s milk. (Yes, we both drink tea the English way – with milk.) If he really wants some cheese, once in a while we’ll splurge and pay extra to get goat cheese. And the all-time favorite ice cream now is Coconut Bliss, Naked Almond Fudge.  It’s not cheap and so is a special occasional treat.

However, since we arrived in Rice Lake Wisconsin two weeks ago, Joel’s been without goat milk – until late Thursday night. We’ve spent the last two weeks searching for goat milk. We initially looked at the grocery store on Main Street and didn’t find any. After looking in the milk aisle, I was told by a store employee that if they had any it might be in the organic, natural food section at the other end of the store. But I didn’t find any there either.

Elsewhere we’ve often been able to find Meyenberg goat milk at Walmart. I tried there in Rice Lake and found none. Joel searched online hoping to find someplace in Barron County here that had it. He did find it in Chippewa Falls – an hour away! We didn’t want to spend the cost in gas to go that far for a quart of milk.

We found some local cheese shops we though might either carry it or be ablee to direct us to some – nope.  We asked everyone we met. Here in the heart of darily land you can find lots of cows – not so many goats and their milk.

We did find a little organic store that carried powdered goat’s milk. It wasn’t cheap and Joel had no idea how it would taste. He didn’t want to spend nearly $15 to find out he didn’t like it. So we kept searching.

Thursday night Joel and Fiona had sore throats and stayed home while I attended our local Bible study meeting. I was talking with a lady who used to get goat milk from a farmer’s goat for her son who was allergic to cow’s milk. She said that sh’ed seen goat’s milk at the local store, Market Place.  Now this was the initial store on Main Street where I had looked before. Yet she was sure she’d seen it there. So I figured I might as well pop in and look again and ask.

At 9 pm Thursday night I walked the milk aisle at Marketplace and lo and behold I found goat milk! It’s by Poplar Hill in Minnesota. I was giddy with excitement! Yes, they do carry it. Apparently they were just out when I’d previously looked. And no one else in town appears to know that here you can find goat milk.

I came home as quickly as possible to share the good news and Joel immediately used goat milk in a hot bedtime drink.

At long last the search for goat milk in Rice Lake is over. Joel’s looking forward to tea in the morning again.