CHEESE

Melanie Cochran, Keswick Creamery, Newburg, Pennsylvania.

Melanie Cochran makes aged, raw milk cheese at Keswick Creamery's 110 acre farm in the Cumberland Valley. The farm has 45 Jersey cows that rotationally grazed. Keswick produces cheddar, Wallaby, Dragon's Breath, feta, Italian herb feta, Feta de Provence, tomato and basil feta and seasonally Carrock and Calverly.

Allison Hooper, Websterville, Vermont

Allison Hooper started the Vermont Butter & Cheese Company with Bob Reese in 1984. She learned artisanal cheese making as a college student studying in France in the late 1970s. Located in Websterville, their company buys its goat and cows' milk from a network of local farms.

Rob Kaufelt, New York, New York.

As owner of Murray's Cheese Shop, the famous Greenwich Village gourmet food store, Rob Kaufelt travels throughout Europe and America in search of new and exotic cheeses. He is an active member of the American Cheese Society, and his dedication to cheese retail has earned him a medal from France's Guilde des Fromagers. As he says, "Remember… Cheese Rules!"

Mike Koch, FireFly Farms, Bittinger, Maryland.

Mike and his partner Pablo purchased the 130-acre farm in 1997 and have spent the last 5 years renovating the property and developing a small dairy business. Mike's affinity for farming and cheese making is hereditary; his paternal grandfather emigrated to an Iowa dairy farm from Switzerland where generations prior had been dairy farmers in the Alpine foothills outside Chür.

Maria Moreira, Lancaster, Massachusetts.

Maria Moreira, whose family immigrated to the United States from Portugal in the 1960s, makes cheese and farms. Moreira also teaches sustainable pest management to Hmong farmers as part of a program to provide land, skills, and access to markets in Massachusetts.

Cesare Marocchi, Chevy Chase, Maryland.

Cesare Marrocchi was born in Castel Forte, Italy. He came to the United States as an Italian diplomat. Instead of returning to Italy, he went into business with a friend and started the Washington restaurant Vace. Cesare was one of the first in the Washington are to make fresh mozzarella from a cheese curd. He owns Marcella's Restaurant in Chevy Chase, Maryland. 

Wendy Wiebe, Orange, Virginia.  

Wendy Wiebe raises heritage livestock on her farm in Orange, Virginia. Working the farm with Suffolk Punch Draft Horses, she raises pigs, chickens, turkeys, sheep, cows, vegetables, fruits, and berries. She uses milk from her dairy cows to make cheese, butter, and yogurt.

CHOCOLATE

El Ceibo, Río Beni, Bolivia.

El Ceibo became the world's first small farmers' cooperative to manufacture—and, since 1986, to export—cocoa products (powder, butter, chocolate) under its own management. El Ceibo was also quick to recognize the importance of organic farming. As far back as 1987 it converted a large part of its cocoa production operations to organic procedures, and in 1988 organically certified cocoa was marketed and exported throughout the world for the first time.

COFFEE

Mshikamano Farmers Association, Mbeya Region, Tanzania.

Mshikamano Coffee Group is a cooperative of approximately 300 farmers in five villages in the southern highlands of southwestern Tanzania, near Zambia. Founded in 1995 by David Robinson, in partnership with rural farming families, Mshikamano provides coffee to Sweet Unity Farms, an independent brand established by Robinson. Sweet Unity Farms began selling its coffee internationally in 1999. Mshikamano recently received investment capital from the African Development Foundation to finance the expansion of its production and enhance its international marketing activities.