Kimberly Alexander, who lives on a nearby acreage — J&K Homestead — with her family, is the organizer of regular raw milk drops in the small town.

“We feel strongly about the importance of knowing where our foods come from, what’s on the foods and making healthy food choices,” she said.

While Alexander’s acreage has large gardens, fruit trees, asparagus bushes, meat rabbits, quail, chickens and a few turkeys, one thing that was missing was a dairy cow.

“As homesteaders and business owners, we like to connect and support other local farms and businesses,” she said.

M2 Dairy owners Melissa Eshelman and Mariah Laven laugh with a customer during Wednesday’s raw milk drop at the Melbourne Public Library. The drops are made every week.

Alexander searched online for raw milk producers. She specifically wanted A2/A2 milk in glass jars. That milk has beta-casein protein, the same protein found in breastmilk, making it easier for a person to absorb.

“(The) benefits of raw milk are that it contains good bacteria and enzymes and it’s easier to digest,” Alexander said. “Probiotic benefits are greatly important to our family since many health issues start in our gut. [Raw milk] doesn’t spoil. There are more nutrients since it is not pasteurized. However, it will sour after approximately two weeks and can then be used in alternative ways. Bottom line, it’s ‘udderly’ better raw than store bought.”

Some of the alternative ways raw milk can be used is to make pancakes, biscuits, muffins, cottage cheese, cheese, gravy or other sauces and marinades, she said.

The Iowa Raw Milk Facebook page led her to M2 Dairy in Altoona, owned by Melissa Eshelman and Mariah Laven. The duo got into raw milk because Laven was unable to drink store-bought milk. Deciding to purchase a dairy cow, Laven soon had extra gallons of milk and she wanted to try to sell them.

“We started in November and it has exploded,” Eshelman said. “We go to Melbourne, Newton, Mitchellville, Altoona and West Des Moines.”

Kimberly Alexander makes butter and pancakes with raw milk brought to Melbourne once a week. She has organized the weekly raw milk drops at the library.

The operation has expanded to include seven head and 65 to 70 gallons of raw milk every week.

Alexander said the dairy owners were wonderful to connect with, and quickly agreed to providing a raw milk drop in Melbourne. That way, others in the community could benefit from bringing similar goods to a small town.

After finding there was interest amongst Melbourne residents, she helped set it up for Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. at the Melbourne Public Library. However, Alexander knew she wanted the weekly drop offs to be more.

“I wanted to be able to connect with others to offer other homegrown and homemade items at the stop,” she said.

J&K Homestead offers rabbit meat and will soon make farm fresh eggs available. During the season they will also bring fresh produce and fruits. Busy Bee Apiary in State Center offers raw honey and Elderberry syrup. Phamous Phil Pharms in Maxwell brings homegrown popcorn seeds which are free of chemicals. Marshall County resident Jim Carmichael offers fresh milled flour and sourdough starters. Soon, M2 Dairy will offer cuts of beef and pork.

“We have other local residents that will soon offer coffee, spices and goat milk soap,” Alexander said. “I’m so excited about how this has all come together and look forward to watching it grow.”

Since the weekly drops started, she has gotten feedback from customers.

“Comments have been, ‘We appreciate so much to have this set up in Melbourne, friendly service, quick responses to messages.’ ‘Absolutely delicious fresh milk.’ So everyone is very pleased,” Alexander said.

The raw milk drops are not limited to Melbourne residents. If anyone has interest in raw milk, she said they should call M2 Dairy at 515-412-0207.

If anyone is interested in bringing their own homegrown or homemade items to the weekly drops, they can call Alexander at 515-509-8139.