It was 1900 at Chris and Matilda
Toft’s family dairy farm situated along then-rural
South Hayes Avenue near Sandusky, Ohio where Toft Dairy
began. The family sold raw milk to area customers for
a time, and then acquired a horse and wagon to haul
large milk cans full into the city of Sandusky. There,
Chris and Matilda would sell by the dipper or fill large
family-size containers customers brought to the wagon.
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| The 1935 purchase of
Oswald Dairy’s retail operations formed the foundation
of Toft Dairy as it is known today. Milk pasteurization
began. Regular wholesale and retail customer routes
were established and increased in number as Toft’s
business grew. This expansion was fueled in part by
the family’s stated vision for their fledgling
enterprise: Growth Through Hard Work.
Five years later, that growth moved the dairy to larger
facilities – and a new product line. 1940 saw
the Toft family move operations to Adams Street in Sandusky.
Three new trucks were added to their dairy fleet. A
new ice cream production line was installed along with
an old time soda fountain.
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During the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s various
family members retired and, sadly, passed away.
Toft heirs, Carl and Edna Meisler, subsequently acquired
sole ownership of the dairy.
The ‘60s and ‘70s brought Toft’s
continued growth, and with it new products and packaging,
plus the purchase of more equipment and the acquisition
of more land.
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| In 1965, the company
bought Otto’s Dairy and moved to West Monroe Street.
Three years later, Toft’s became the first area
dairy to introduce plastic gallon milk jugs. The dairy’s
growth continued.
Toft’s then built a 64,500 square foot plant
at the corner of Venice Road and Edgewater Drive in
1985. Growth required expansion again in 1993 and once
more in 2003 to today’s 76,000 square foot modern,
high-tech operation.
Toft Dairy is the only locally owned and operated
dairy on Lake Erie between Cleveland and Toledo, and
the oldest operating dairy in the state. Toft’s
delivers products to over 200 schools plus 1,500 wholesale
and retail customers. The company purchases its milk from 22 local family dairy farms– all members of the Sandusky Cooperative
Milk Producers Association. The milk is free of synthetic growth hormones.
The family owned and operated dairy is now over 109
years old. Today, as in past years, Chris and Matilda
Toft’s descendants continue growing the dairy
by staying true to their ancestors’ original vision:
Growth Through Hard Work.
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