Home delivery dairy open to Key Peninsula residents

Gene Miller delivers milk to Key Peninsula homes from Fessler Farms (delivery service), a new storefront in Key Center. Photo by Ed Johnson, KP News

Fessler Farms, LLC, now provides dairy and full-service grocery deliveries to the Key Peninsula.

Each week, the family-owned service will deliver fresh dairy and grocery products into customers’ice chests or milk boxes. Delivery is between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

To ensure product safety, Fessler will provide a temporary milk box for $11, of which $10 is refunded upon return.

Owner Dan Fessler said all of their milk options are rBST- (recombinant bovine somatotropin, a growth-hormone) and antibiotic-free.

“You will receive the freshest milk you can buy. In fact, it is delivered to your door usually within a few days after the cow was milked. Grocery store milk is usually at least a week to 10 days old when you pick it off the shelf,”Fessler said.

According to Fessler, there is no minimum order for a variety of products, including milk and other dairy organics and juices.

They also deliver breads, fruits, vegetables, meats, grocery and miscellaneous items, and are adding items all the time, he said.

Nonhomogenized organic milk comes in glass bottles. There is a $3 deposit for the glass that is refunded when you return the glass rinsed clean. Fessler Farms does not want plastic lids returned.

Delivery can be scheduled to automatically continue every week, two weeks, thee weeks or four weeks as a standing order. Items used less often can be ordered for one-time-only delivery. Changes to orders can be done every week as late as 9 a.m, two business days before scheduled delivery with the exception of raw and organic milk products, which must be preordered a week in advance.

Fessler said there is never a contract obligation to start or continue delivery service.

Fessler Farms will automatically apply credit or debit charges after each delivery. There is a $2 weekly delivery fee ($0 for weekly orders more than $40) for the service to help cover the cost of fuel.

“That’s usually less than you’d spend to drive to the store,”Fessler said.

Store hours in Key Center are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Gene Miller is the regular driver and Cora Miller helps in the retail store.

Vouchers for the WIC (Women-Infants-Children) program may be accepted after enrollment with the state, which should occur in April.

The store will be taking applications for sales personnel and will be hiring new drivers soon.

Reach Fessler Farms by calling (253) 509-9995, or order online at fesslerfarms.com. It’s located at 15610 92nd Street Kp N in Key Center.