Grand Rapids is Pretty Cheesy

Residents of Grand Rapids love to say "cheese" -- and not because they are getting their pictures taken. Grand Rapids ranks in the top 10 of the top cheese-consuming cities in the Midwest.

Crystal Farms Dairy Co. based their rankings on pounds of cheese sold per capita in the last year. The list was put together in honor of it being National Grilling Month in July.

The first cheesy fact they found was that people who live in the Midwest consume more cheese than any other parts of the country. More than 1 billion pounds of cheese was purchased last year. That breaks down to about15.5 pounds purchased per Midwesterner!

So where are the "cheesiest" cities?

Here is the list of the Top 10 Cheese Consuming Cities in the Midwest:

1. Cincinnati, Ohio
2. Dayton, Ohio
3. St. Louis, Missouri
4. Kansas City, Missouri
5. Indianapolis, Indiana
6. Grand Rapids, Michigan
7. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
8. Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minneapolis
9. Detroit, Michigan
10. Cleveland, Ohio

I find it interesting that only one city is on the list from Wisconsin -- "The Cheese State" -- and that is Milwaukee falling into the list at #7. Falling into the list at #6, we eat more cheese in Grand Rapids than they do in Milwaukee! The only other Michigan city on the list is Detroit at #9.

The report did go on to reveal that Grand Rapids eats more Monterey Jack cheese than any of the other cities in the top 10.

You can see the complete list here.

You can find Crystal Farms cheese products at Family Fare Supermarkets and D&W Fresh Market stores in the Grand Rapids area.

From their Facebook page: "Since 1926, Crystal Farms has been committed to providing the highest quality products to our consumers. Today the Crystal Farms® brand is one of the largest cheese brands in the country. Lake Mills, Wisconsin has been home to Crystal Farms for the past 25 years and the hard-working, honest people of Lake Mills are devoted to delivering consistent quality and great tasting products for what they love – cheese."

Visit the company website for more information. You can also check out their Facebook page.