January 11th is no ordinary Wednesday, it marks National Milk Day.  In 1878, milk was delivered in bottles for the first time.

While you may have never had fresh milk delivered right to your door, theres still one man roaming the roads of Vermont, bringing you some of the region’s best dairy products.

For Peter Carreiro, Rise and Shine, is more than just a saying.  “I’m going to run to the house, grab that milk box there.  Grab their empty milk bottles, bring them back to the truck.  Fill their order because they also have a shopping list in there and bring it back to their milk box,” explained Carreiro.  Peter the Milkman has been delivering local dairy products around Chittenden County for more than a decade.  On a warm January day, he did just that.

He had zero ties to dairy before originally starting the business in Rhode Island.  “I thought well, who knows, maybe this could work, lets give it a shot,” he said.  Now, he’s got milk running through his veins.  Carreiro makes 40 to 85 stops a day, 6 days a week, delivering the region’s “white gold” right to your doorstep.  He says he’s met life long friends, and shared great memories through his business.  “You get into a repetition where you see the same families.  When you’re there early in the morning and they’re waiting at the kitchen table for their milk to fill their cereal bowls.  It’s really a nice feeling,” he said.

Vermont’s remaining milkman carries 200 products in his truck, from milk, to local yogurts, cheeses, ice cream and pizza.  He says 80 percent of those are made locally in Vermont and New Hampshire.  “No one’s getting rich, but it’s a great way to promote the local economy and local businesses.  So it’s rewarding.  It’s rewarding with my customers and my vendors.  I really enjoy it,” he rejoiced.

All of Pete’s milks are delivered in glass bottles.  He says it keeps the milk colder and fresher for longer.  Plus it’s a great nostalgic tie to the days of old.  “I talk to people my age that grew up with milk men, my wife still remembers her milk man’s name, I remember the guy we had for a milkman.  There’s a lot of people who, when they come on board as customers, say hey I had a milk man growing up,” he laughed.  Carreiro says as far as he knows, he’s the only milkman in Vermont.  There are a few in New Hampshire, and just a handful in Massachusetts.

He says when it comes to Vermont, agriculture, and dairy in particular, is the lifeblood of the state.  When you think Vermont, you think premium quality.  Pete the Milkman says it’s that quality, and the love of the job that will keep him doing this another 20 years, “I don’t want to say it’s easy work, but I like what I do.  I can see myself doing it for another, however long it takes,” said the milkman.

Here’s a couple National Milk Day facts for you: The United States and Australia are the world’s largest exporters of milk and milk products.  And there are more than 6 billion consumers of milk and milk products throughout the world.

Click to Learn More about Carreiro and Rise ‘N Shine.