Victory Cheese, A Sarasota Shop Aims to Help Save American Cheese

As the “victory garden” trend expands amid the pandemic and people engage in more backyard food growing, a similar revolution is brewing right alongside it: the “victory cheese” movement.

It is a campaign to spur people to buy (and ultimately save) American cheese. And Sarasota’s Artisan Cheese Company is championing the cause (#victorycheese).

“There are so many important issues going on in cheese right now since COVID-19, and cheese shops like mine are trying to save American cheese before it goes away,” says Louise Kennedy Converse, the owner of the downtown Sarasota shop. “There’s a Victory Cheese Box movement in the same way that victory gardens took root in the middle of World War II. Jamie Oliver championed a ‘Save British Cheese’ campaign, which is working, so on this side of the Atlantic we are trying to do the same with American cheese.”

The pandemic is devastating the American cheese industry, adversely affecting dairy farmers, cheesemakers, distributors, restaurants, and cheese counters. A grassroots collection of cheese professionals (mongers, chefs, cheese guilds, etc.) banded together to identify ways to help struggling companies by creating the Victory Cheese Box.

To this end, Converse is selling two sizes of boxes on her website: $75 for three-cheese and $125 for five-cheese. Each package includes hand-cut American cheese, a card about the Victory Cheese Box, crackers and a preserve. Patrons can also add wine and salami.

“Let us help the makers who have been devastated by COVID- 19. Some makers have sold off their herd. Others have been close to shutting down. We can’t let that happen,” Converse wrote in her description of the boxes. “So when you buy a Victory Box, you not only get to enjoy some really amazing cheese, but you help the makers. And we love that. And they love you for caring.”

Converse, who is originally from England and Scotland, opened Artisan Cheese Company in Sarasota in 2012. The Rosemary District shop sells hand-cut-to-order artisanal and farmstead cheeses, charcuterie items, natural wine, tinned fish, chocolate, sausages, sauces, marmalades, and other pantry goods. Prepared foods include decadent mac and cheese, organic chicken pot pie, fresh scones, take-home pizza kits, and grain bowls. Converse’s shop has been impacted by European Union tariffs, which have hit consumer prices hard, as well as shutdowns and social-distancing restrictions in 2020. But Converse has managed to skillfully power through the changes.

“That we are still open right now is only because of my resilient staff, who have stuck through with this,” Converse says, adding that her retail space has been modified for proper spacing. “We have twisted and turned but never had to lay one person off.”

Now Converse hopes her loyal customers will consider giving back to the cheese industry (especially around the holidays) to help keep small businesses afloat through the economic downturn. There has never been a better time to buy American cheese.

Artisan Cheese Company: 550 Central Ave, Sarasota, 941-951-7860; artisancheesecompany.com