Getting your Cornell Dairy fix is getting easier.

The Cornell Dairy Cooperative, a new venture of the Cornell Dairy, is now providing a new way to buy dairy favorites without a stop at a campus store or dining hall. The co-op provides a fresh, convenient way to get ice cream, milk, cheese, yogurt and other dairy products made on campus at wholesale prices.

Here’s how it works: A $15 lifetime membership gives Cornell community members access to a weekly email and order form. Members place their orders by Tuesday and pick up their prepared packages Thursday between 2 and 6 p.m. at the Stocking Hall receiving docks along Judd Falls Road. There’s no weekly commitment or minimum order, and membership comes with an insulated bag to keep products cold on the drive home.

As a perk to belonging to the cooperative, members get access to discounted prices compared to what’s charged at campus stores.

“The cooperative gives the Cornell community another option to get the delicious dairy products they love without going out of their way,” said production manager Tim Barnard. “Our goal is to make this a convenient option right here on campus. Instead of making a stop at the grocery store, customers place their order from their computer or phone, and we sort and package everything they want.”

Along with quintessential Cornell Dairy treats are options such as pudding, juice and seasonal items like eggnog. The dairy also processes cider on site from Cornell Orchards apples.

And don’t forget the ice cream. The plant has streamlined its ice cream options to 18 flavors offered in pints and tubs in 1.5 gallon and 3 gallon sizes. Prices are reduced to $3.40 for a pint, making it less expensive to get favorites like Big Red Bear Tracks, Bavarian Raspberry Fudge or any other Cornell flavor.

Weekly emails keep customers up to date on sales, special items and seasonal products, like this autumn’s Clocktower Pumpkin ice cream and Apple Pie A La Mode, a traditional apple pie ice cream with New York apples and pie pieces.

“There is no fresher, more local option available,” said Deanna Simons, quality manager and academic program coordinator at Cornell Dairy. “People are busy, and a stop at the store for milk or a treat is just one more burden at the end of the day. We’re making it as simple as possible to get the best-tasting dairy products made right here at Cornell.”

The state-of-the-art processing facility at Stocking Hall processes milk and milk products from the Cornell dairy herd. Dairy plant experts bottle the milk or turn it into favorites like yogurt and Big Red Refuel, a low-fat, protein-fortified chocolate milk for athletes to use as a nutritional recovery drink after a workout. Cheese made by Rob Ralyea, senior extension associate, and others in the Food Processing and Development Laboratory is also sold through the cooperative.

The cooperative accepts cash, check or credit card.

To sign up, visit the co-op page on the Department of Food Science website, stop by the Cornell Dairy office at Stocking Hall, Room 180, or call Laura Hatch at 607-255-2888.

This article was written by Matt Hayes and published in the Cornell Chronicle on October 20, 2016.