Kroger celebrates edible artistry at the Indiana State Fair

Submitted

The Indiana State Fair unveiled intricate, edible artwork this week, made possible by a hefty donation from Kroger.

The grocer’s Pace Dairy in Crawfordsville, Ind., donated blocks of cheddar cheese which have become the State Fair cheese sculpture. Sarah Kaufmann, The Cheese Lady, and her team traditionally transform massive blocks of cheese, as big as 640 pounds each, into a design matching the theme of the Indiana State Fair.

This is the 20^th year for Kaufmann to create the fair’s sculpture, and she notes the cheese she receives is the same cheese Kroger offers in its dairy cases: “Beautiful, top-quality cheese,” she said.

Sculpting the cheese calls for patience in addition to artistic talent. Kaufmann says the work takes approximately 250 hours from start to finish. She said she loves what she does, loves working with Indiana dairy farmers and loves that Pace Dairy supports this tradition.

Kaufmann also appreciates this connection to agriculture.

“Knowing the quality and the care and the love that farmers have for their cows and for making quality products,” she said. “It’s all about that. And having Kroger and Pace Dairy makes it even better with their wonderful quality Kroger cheese. It ties into Indiana so well.”

Pace Dairy is remarkably important for what appears in Kroger dairy cases. Site Leader Melissa Stonecipher said, “All Kroger cheese east of the Mississippi is from Crawfordsville,” and her plant “supplies all of the sliced [Kroger] cheese for the entire country.”

Pace and its 300 associates have been key suppliers of Kroger-branded cheese products for more than 40 years, opening in Crawfordsville in 1982.