Truthfully, friends, I don’t really know what to write this week. Usually, I try to make this is a fun newsletter that brings you out of your day for a moment, but that doesn’t feel right today. I would love to highlight a Black American cheesemaker who has cheese in our case, but I can’t because we don’t have any. Yes, that’s the truth, we have no Black cheesemakers’ wares represented in our cheese case. I am embarrassed to type that. Embarrassed is too weak a word – I’m ashamed to type that. We have let part of our community down (again, again, again…), so this is one small way we must do better here at the shop, and as an industry as a whole. We have to be more intentional, reach farther, try harder to support businesses of people of color. Our goal is to bring delicious cheese and wine to you, and what we should have had in our minds was to bring delicious cheese and wine to you from producers of all kinds. Now, we will. We must.

 For the love of cheese and each other,

 Kiri (and all of us)

P.S. As a shop, we have donated to the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salem. This is an organization we’ve supported since we opened because it assists underserved children in our town. We love Salem, and we want to see this wonderful, quirky place thrive. If you’re looking for a national organization, Color of Change is another one of our favorites.