This Popular Cheese Brand Is Giving Away a Boatload of Cheese — Literally

When the Morning Star, a schooner commissioned by the dairy farmers of Tillamook County, delivered cheese from Tillamook on the Oregon Coast to Portland, Oregon, in 1909, folks weren’t sure just how much dairy goodness was aboard. But a revamped Morning Star will deliver an exacting 1,909 pounds of cheese to one recipient as the Tillamook County Creamery Association celebrates National Cheddar Day by running a giveaway with the grand prize of a boatload of cheese. 

The giveaway comes as the Tillamook cooperative celebrates National Cheddar Day on February 13, the same day the co-op was formed in 1909. While Tillamook has celebrated National Cheddar Day since the holiday was established in 2019, the brand now wants to go all in with the festivities for its 116th year. 

Cheddar lovers can enter to win a nearly entire metric ton of Tillamook cheese. One winner gets chosen randomly for the cheese haul after the giveaway closes on February 20, and the first 15,000 entrants receive a free cheese coupon worth up to $6. While the boatload eventually totals 1,909 pounds, Tillamook tells Food & Wine that the actual boat delivery features 100 pounds of a mix of Tillamook’s cheese varieties and an additional 1,809 pounds worth of Tillamook cheese products in the form of coupons. (After all, it would be tricky to eat 1,909 pounds of cheese before it expires.) 

“February 13 is a celebratory day for Tillamook,” Kate Boltin, executive vice president of marketing at the Tillamook County Creamery Association, tells Food & Wine. “Not only is it the cheesiest food holiday — aka National Cheddar Day — but it’s also the date in 1909 when our founding farmers each pitched in $10 to form the Tillamook cooperative and formalize a commitment to create quality dairy products, something we carry through this day.” 

The Morning Star is a link to the founding farmers’ early delivery method. “It all goes back to more than a century ago, when Tillamook dairy farmers built the Morning Star, a boat used solely to share our love of incredible dairy beyond the Oregon Coast,” Boltin says. “Now you can find the Morning Star icon on every Tillamook product.” 

In the 1800s, as dairy farming grew in Tillamook County, the farmers wanted a way to sell cheese and butter to the bustling port in Portland. But the Coastal Mountains sat between the two locations and no roads connected them at the time. So, the answer was retooling an old schooner and sailing up the Pacific Ocean to the Columbia River to Portland. Unfortunately, the first vessel was shipwrecked during its initial outing. A second schooner was restored for the same purpose, and this one soon ran aground. 

The farmers decided to build a third vessel. This one they named the Morning Star of Tillamook. It set sail in 1855 as the county’s first registered ship and successfully brought Tillamook’s dairy bounty to Portland on the 38-foot-long boat. In the process, it gave what eventually became the Tillamook County Creamery Association a symbol of the area’s history and dairy dedication. 

“For over a century, our farmer-owned cooperative has shared the same determination that inspired those aboard the historic Morning Star,” Boltin says. “Since the ship’s maiden voyage, we’ve continued to deliver an unwavering commitment to quality ingredients you can taste. Generations of dairy fans have fueled our passion for delivering premium cheddar, and that’s why we are going overboard this year by gifting a literal boatload of cheese.”

The Morning Star logo is key to Tillamook’s branding and is prominently displayed on the packaging. The brand’s origin story is tied to its modern dairy creations, including a cheddar cheese that, in 2024, won the title of best cheddar in the world at the World Cheese Awards. 

The Tillamook County Creamery Association, a Certified B Corp, operates production facilities in both Tillamook, Oregon, and Boardman, Oregon, and employs more than 1,100 individuals. The Tillamook Creamery is the largest tourist attraction on the Oregon Coast with more than one million visitors annually. It also features a full-size replica of the Morning Star on-site. Alas, the replica isn’t full of cheese.