Sampson Dairy tells customers it is going out of business

Every week for the last seven or eight years, Bonnie Swenson of Walters has had milk and drinking water delivered to her home.

The items came from Sampson Dairy — which has locations in Albert Lea, Owatonna and Rochester — and Swenson said the service was appreciated because she has a bad back.

She would usually get three gallons of milk and six gallons of drinking water at any given time.

But on Sept. 10, Swenson said the deliveryman never came.

“By that Friday I said this is really unusual,” she said. “If they have a breakdown or there’s a holiday, you’d expect your delivery to be a day late.”

She said she called Sampson Dairy and talked to a woman who read a statement and ultimately told her the company was going out of business. The drivers were supposed to notify the customers on their routes.

Swenson is one of dozens of customers in the area who have been scrambling to find a new supplier or travel to local grocery stores to get their milk after years of having it delivered to their homes. In addition to residents, Sampson delivered to nonprofits such as The Children’s Center.

“It’s so sad to know this is the death of an era of the milkman for southern Minnesota,” Swenson said.

According to the Owatonna People’s Press, Sampson Dairy had its start when Joe Sampson purchased the Butter Capital Creamery in 1970. Sampson had been an employee of the creamery since 1955. When he bought the business, he changed the name, incorporating as Sampson’s Dairy Foods Inc. in January 1971.

Sampson Dairy Foods declined to comment last week.

Kim Nelson, director of The Children’s Center, said her child care facility received a letter on the day their delivery was supposed to have taken place. The letter stated Sampson Dairy wasn’t getting milk from its supplier until further notice.

Nelson said between The Children’s Center’s two locations, they were using roughly 6 to 8 gallons of milk a day. They also purchased other items, including frozen vegetables and bread.

“We really appreciated that partnership with them,” Nelson said. “I don’t think they handled it quite like they could have.”

Since finding out about Sampson Dairy, The Children’s Center has worked with Marketplace Foods, Hy-Vee and its food distributor to fill the void.

“It’s impossible for us to go and pick it up three or four times a week,” Nelson said.

Sampson Dairy in Albert Lea was at 126 St. Thomas Ave.