Edaleen signs deal with 7-Eleven

  LYNDEN -- Edaleen Dairy, one of the few remaining family-owned dairies in the Northwest, has contracted to supply fresh dairy products to all 7-Eleven stores in Washington and Oregon.
  Edaleen Dairy began shipping milk and other dairy items to close to 300 stores last week, according to a press release for 7-Eleven.
  “Edaleen is a well-respected dairy that still produces their own milk from cow to bottle,” said David Huey, 7-Eleven vice president for the North Pacific division. “Its reputation for producing top-quality products with no added hormones, combined with our daily delivery system, gives 7-Eleven an advantage other convenience retailers can’t claim.”
  Edaleen Dairy was started as a small family business in 1975 by Ed and Aileen Brandsma with just 80 cows, milked by Ed himself. The Guide Meridian Road land the dairy occupies has been in Aileen’s family since the 1930s, and the business name is a combination of the two founders’ first names.
  Today Edaleen boasts a herd of more than 6,000 cattle, with less than 3,000 of those milked daily, according to the 7-Eleven announcement. All cows are raised from calves and added to the herd once they mature, and no cows are purchased from the outside. Edaleen cows produce milk without the use of any synthetic growth hormones, like rBST.
  “Our employees take a lot of pride in their jobs -- from milking to herd health to bottling, and everyone is like family,” said Michelle Kitchen, CEO of Edaleen. “Through 7-Eleven stores, we’re providing milk to more of our neighbors and communities in Washington and Oregon. Customers who buy our milk at 7-Eleven can be assured it’s from local cows, fresh and bottled within 24 hours from delivery to the stores.”
  Huey added, “7-Eleven wants to offer regional brands and products to its customers.”
  Since its inception, Edaleen has supervised all phases of the production process from tending the cows to processing and bottling the milk at the Guide dairy plant. Edaleen also distributes Yami brand yogurt and Darigold brand cottage cheese and sour cream to the same 7-Eleven stores in the Northwest.
  -- Timothy Newcomb