Veteran Owned | Littleton Food Co-op

Producer Spotlight: Cherry Orchard Foods

July 23, 2026 By Annie Stuart

Producer: Cherry Orchard Foods

Location: Madison, NC

Found at the Littleton Co-op: dip mixes, slushie mixes, rubs and seasonings

Website: cherryorchardfoods.com

As Cherry Orchard Foods co-founder John Arnold tells the story, his life went from constructing kitchens to constructing within the kitchen. Prior to construction, John served four years in the US Navy and six years in the US Army. Upon returning home, he began his own seasonal construction business. Finding himself with unexpected downtime in the off season, he began experimenting with recipes in his own kitchen. Soon, his unassuming hobby turned into over a dozen dip mix recipes. John continued to explore opportunities in the food and restaurant industries until he ultimately realized he wanted to share his home-crafted dips with the world. Partnering with his son, Craig Arnold, he opened Cedar Hill Gourmet Pantry in 2009. In 2013 the duo purchased Cherry Orchard Foods to become the manufacturing and wholesale business arm of their venture. Since then, they have expanded to over 55 dip mixes, a line of food mixes – Farm House Foods – and a business opportunity program for entrepreneurs to use their products to start independent businesses.

Even through their continued rapid expansion, the Arnold family remains at the heart of Cherry Orchard Foods. All of their products are still developed, mixed, packaged, and labeled by hand for maximum quality.

Status of product availability at the Littleton Co-op, and labeling of producers (such as local, Black-Owned Business, NH-made, etc) and product status or ingredients (gluten-free, vegan, etc) is based on available information at time of publication. The food world is an ever-changing landscape and information presented here may not reflect the most up-to-date information available.

Producer Spotlight: Attwood Farm and Kitchen

July 16, 2026 By Annie Stuart

Producer: Attwood Farm and Kitchen

Location: Poland, ME

Found at the Littleton Co-op: Salsas

Website: attwoodfarmofmaine.com

Uniquely flavored salsas is just one of the things coming out of Atwood Farm Kitchen in Poland, Maine. Atwood Farm is a diversified livestock and vegetable farm with an apple orchard that supports the on-site licensed home kitchen. The farm dates back to 1796 – before Maine had seceded from Massachusetts! It was homesteaded by the Attwood family starting in 1810; in 1827, the Attwoods officially purchased the land for $35.50. It is now owned and operated by Charley and Shelia Foy, who kept the Attwood Farm name to pay homage to the land’s original stewards. Both Charley and Shelia are US Army Veterans. Charley was a lieutenant colonel in the US Army Reserve, and recently joined his unit, the 399th Combat Support Hospital, in providing medical support against COVID-19 in 2020. Shelia served 23 years in the military and serves in the Maine Army National Guard alongside her farming duties.

They are dedicated to raising all the animals in a natural and sustainable fashion with the strictest attention to animal health and comfort. Charley and Shelia have also taken on a new venture, Poland Provisions, to further support the local central Maine food ecosystem.

Producer Spotlight: 14th Star Brewing Co.

July 8, 2026 By Annie Stuart

Producer: 14th Star Brewing Co.

Location: St. Albans, VT

Found at the Littleton Co-op: Maple Breakfast Stout

Website: 14thstarbrewing.com

Many entrepreneurs have stories of their ideas starting on cocktail napkins or scraps of paper; a burst of inspiration that needed to be written down at the kitchen counter, at the bar, or wherever they happened to be at that time. For Steve Gagner and Matt Kehaya, the idea went on the back of a notebook on the battlefields of Afghanistan. While on their second deployment together, the longtime friends used downtime to plan for life after the military, ultimately recognizing the community that is created around beer, and the relaxing atmosphere it can create to balance the pressures of military life. While 14th Star Brewing takes its name from Vermont – playing on the state being the 14th to join the Union– it gives back locally tenfold. Since the beginning it was never just about beer. The co-founders say “we wanted to ensure the brewery is used as a mechanism to make our communities a better place. Not just our local community, but our veterans communities.”

When co-founder Steve began homebrewing, he was simply trying to copy existing craft brews he admired. Fast-forward and now not only is he a Vermont Small Business Person of the Year award winner, 14th Star Brewing Co. is producing world-class, worldwide recognized craft beer worth copying by the next up-and-comer.

Producer Spotlight: Able Ebenezer Brewing Company

July 2, 2026 By Annie Stuart

Producer: Able Ebenezer Brewing Company

Location: Merrimack, NH

Found at the Littleton Co-op: beer

Website: ableebenezer.com

Able Ebenezer was founded in 2014 by Army Veterans and friends Carl Soderberg and Mike Frizzelle. The duo found that in addition to having shared military experiences, they had both discovered their love of craft beer during their service. Carl started his life after the military at a biopharmaceutical manufacturing company in Cambridge, and Mike returned to his home state of California. Before long, though, Carl decided to pursue his actual passion of brewing – to no avail. After facing many rejections from brewing positions at established breweries, all the while perfecting his homebrewing, he convinced Mike to pack up, relocate, and open a brewery. While it was a big leap to make, Mike attributes their quick to action style to their time in the military, saying “the quickest way to get kicked out of the program is to be indecisive. You could make a mistake, as long as you made a choice and took action.” Their scrappy budget and head first attitude led to them doing many of the construction, plumbing, and design themselves. The name Able Ebenezer came as a tribute to NH Veteran Ebenezer Mudgett and the Pine Tree Riots of 1772 in Weare, NH he inspired that ultimately contributed to the Boston Tea Party and American Revolution.

The historical theme continues throughout the brews, including their flagship beers Burn The Ships and Victory Nor Defeat. As Carl told New Hampshire Magazine, “”Only one of us is actually from New Hampshire, so it was a big step for the rest of us to ‘burn our ships’ to come here and attempt to start a business.” Now, they find community in the rest of the NH craft beer scene, and accolades from the Small Business Association to countless voters’ choice polls.