About Us
Our Story
Sarah moved to New Hampshire in 2012, moving into what used to be her grandmother’s house. After living in co-housing in New Mexico, sharing the care of two milking goats with her neighbors, and dabbling in cheesemaking, she decided to start Main Street Cheese. She loves working with the goats, with their playful energy, their spirits, and distinct personalities.
She is inspired by the economist E.F. Schumacher who wrote Small is Beautiful. Convinced that one doesn’t have to “get big or get out,” Sarah’s hope is to show that not only is small beautiful but that it can also be viable and profitable. Her hope is that someday shops selling locally-grown and processed foods can pepper the landscape, building community and food sovereignty across the region. Sarah sees this as an important way to honor future generations and other species.
From 2012 to 2022, Sarah ran the licensed goat dairy at 37 Main Street. In 2022, she sold her milking goats and much of her farm equipment to Dan Field and Megan Baptiste-Field who founded Bending Branch Farm LLC. Bending Branch Farm took over the milking and the cheesemaking, and Main Street Cheese began buying cheese wholesale from them.
This cooperative agreement was a win-win for both businesses and all involved, allowing each the flexibility to meet evolving needs while ensuring both business the ability to function and thrive as separate entities. Main Street Cheese continues to have goats for customers to visit, and cheese and meat to purchase.
In 2023, Megan and Dan were relieved to find a suitable property for their farm, and to share their habitat with their caprine friends, no longer having to schlep to Hancock for milking and goat tending. They are currently working very hard to build out their own cheesemaking facility there as well.
As farm lands and farm businesses are threatened by many trends—development, private equity, agroeconomic policy, and society’s disconnection from agriculture, succession planning is vitally important to the future of agriculture and all the benefits it brings. Sarah was utterly delighted her herd could stay together and that her labor of love over the prior decade would continue with Megan and Dan—wonderful people with the commitment, energy, and devotion to the livestock and cheesemaking requisite to the job!
Meet the Team
Sarah Gilliatt, Founder & Manager
Sarah studied cheesemaking at the Vermont Institute for Artisanal Cheese and with Peter Dixon. She served for several years on the Board of the New Hampshire Organic Farming Association and chaired its Policy Committee. In New Mexico, she long worked in non-profit advocacy around sustainable agriculture and economic localization. There, she coordinated a Food Policy Council and was the Food Policy Coordinator for the New Mexico Acequia Association.
She was a Writing Assistant to her mentor, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Founder of Local Futures. Sarah has written numerous articles on agricultural policy and contributed to Harvesting Justice: Transforming Food, Land, and Agricultural Systems in the Americas. She has taught Spiritual Economics courses in which she interweaves Gandhian noviolence, socially-engaged Buddhism, and economic localization.
As a “semi-retired goat farmer” (yes, that is possible!) Sarah has more time to dedicate to organizing around agricultural policy and life-affirming economics as well as writing and living the good life in the heart of Hancock village.
Littles, Head of Welcoming Committee & Security
In Memoriam
(May 2010 – December 2025)
Littles is sorely missed by many. He was loved by many neighborhood children and adults alike for his extremely affable personality. He was a gentle soul who acutely observed the rhythms of life in Hancock Village and welcomed all who came to visit Main Street Cheese.
Littles moved to Hancock from New Mexico with his family in 2012. He joined Main Street Cheese as an entry-level mouser. He rapidly moved up the ranks to his position as Head of the Welcoming Committee and Security. He thoroughly enjoyed his role: greeting visitors, regularly patrolling the farm, and protecting the goats’ feed from various “thieving varmints” as he called them.
He reminded us all of how to lead the good life, lapping up goat milk when the kids were fed, strolling the neighborhood, lying in the sun amidst the flowers, and basking in the love of neighborhood children and customers. Amidst it all, he never wanted for words!