This summer, cars and utes are pouring into a roadside stall off State Highway 1 on the Kapiti Coast.
They're coming to pick up raw milk from a self-service vending machine operated by the Faith family, who's farmed near the town of Te Horo for over 100 years.
Otaki dairy farmers Stacy and Andrew Faith with their raw milk vending machine Photo: Rural News Group
Faith Farm Fresh is one of about a dozen dairy farms around Aotearoa that sell raw milk via imported vending machines.
The Faith's raw milk comes from a herd of 18 cows who get milked every afternoon and graze separately to their main 360-strong herd whose milk goes to Fonterra.
Producing raw milk involves a bit of admin, including sending samples away every week for safety testing, but Sandy Faith says it's worthwhile.
On an average day they now sell nearly 300 litres of raw milk at the stall, which is notable for its lifesize model of a Friesian cow.
"We probably kill a tree every year, the amount of paperwork we've got to do… it's worth it though, we're selling so much."
The Faith's raw milk has a loyal following, she says, with all sorts of folks visiting the $160,000 vending machines, including an older gentleman who fills up a gin bottle every week.
A Wellington man named Jacob travels almost an hour to collect his raw milk, which he believes is more nutritious than pasteurised milk.
"People that I know who are farmers that produce it, for over 20 years never got sick on it. Their immune systems are really good," he says.
