How To Create A Kids Charcuterie Board with Illinois Farm Families

This post is sponsored by Illinois Farm Families. All photos and opinions are my own.

As a Mom, I must understand where the food that I purchase for myself and my family comes from. Understanding what the food is that we buy is not only important for your health and I want to truly be more selective in the food that we consume.

For instance, my family is a huge cheese lover, partly because I think it’s in their blood. My husband grew up working on his family’s dairy farm, assisting with feeding, milking and making sure the cows we’re feeling their best. It’s a lot of hard work, and now my children are able to see first hand how the milk comes from the cow to our local store.

All About Cheese:

We all know that cheese is a good source of calcium, protein, and phosphorus which are three nutrients to building and maintaining healthy bones. Studies even indicate that dairy foods may contribute to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk for Type 2 diabetes as well. There are so many benefits in cheese, which is why it’s a staple in my household! And thanks to Illinois dairy farmers, we can buy good quality cheese at our local grocery store or right from the source itself, farmers!

Marcoot Jersey Creamery

Did you know that in my home state of Illinois there are nearly 500 family-owned dairy farms! That’s incredible. I recently came across a local dairy farm owned by two sisters and a childhood friend called Marcoot Jersey Creamery. They are a family-run dairy farm and creamery that produces their cheese using the milk from their own family’s Jersey cows. They sell a variety of specialty cheese online or in their store.

Of course, cheese comes from milk, lots of fresh milk. It takes about ten pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese. And what I didn’t know about farms today is that there are a lot of innovations used to make dairy farming more sustainable. In fact, the environmental impact of producing a gallon of milk involves 30% less water, 21% less land, and 21% less manure than it did in 2007.

These dairy farmers, such as the ones at Marcoot Jersey Creamery, are truly committed to making their carbon footprint a priority through sustainable practices used on their farm and I truly am here for it. For a business to constantly find ways to conserve their land’s natural resources is a business I want to keep coming back to.

Now, onto one of the main reasons you’re here! My kids, as I’m sure you’ve seen on several of my Instagram Stories, are huge into snacks. I decided to make a very simple kid charcuterie board to show an easy way to put this together while highlighting some of the incredible cheeses from Marcoot Jersey Creamery.

I used Tomme cheese with a cheddar base with a parmesan finish. This hard cheese has been aged for approximately 8 months and is also great for grating over pasta! I also used a White Cheddar with its light and smooth classic taste, my kids couldn’t stop sneaking bites! Lastly, Havarti is another delicious cheese to add to your charcuterie board with a creamy buttery taste that is great to serve hot or cold. You truly can’t go wrong with any of these mouth-watering cheeses delivered straight to your door.

One of the great things about charcuterie boards is that you probably have a lot of these snack foods in your home already so creating this is easier than you think.

Here are a few ideas to help you:

Use a variety of colors
Add your personal favorites like ants on a log
Cut it into a fun shape
Add a dip
Look for miniature sizes
Add a treat (chocolate covered pretzels, M&M’s)

While this snack style charcuterie board is full of kid-friendly options, there is no age limit and no rules. Our house (including myself and my husband) love to make a meal out of everything shown above including the cheeses that are a perfect addition of creamy, sharp, and spreadable!

It’s a fun way for homework sessions for the young adult kids too. My kids even love assembling the ingredients and we use it as a learning experience to talk about the food we enjoy eating as well as where it comes from.