BOSTON – When Blanche Lennington last year started a small club to purchase raw milk directly from farmers, she figured it would be a good way to share her passion for the product and support local dairy farmers.
The club thrived – until it was suddenly shut down this year by the state.
The state Department of Agricultural Resources is banning Lennington, a Becket grandmother, and other consumers from purchasing nonpasteurized milk from a farm and then distributing the milk to fellow club members.
Under a proposed state regulation that will be aired in Boston on Monday, people can continue to purchase raw milk from farms, but they will need to drive to the farm themselves. Under the regulation, people will no longer be allowed to join groups that allow them to pay another member a small fee to purchase the raw milk for them and drop it off at a convenient location for pickup, such as a rural retail store or private home.
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