We’re delighted to introduce you to The Butcher Block, our Community Partner who distributes CSF shares to members in Fort St. John.
Skipper Otto’s CSF didn’t always deliver sustainable seafood to Fort St. John this way. From 2011-2014, my husband and fisherman, Shaun, would fish all summer, rent a freezer truck and drive across the Rockies to deliver CSF shares to our members in Edmonton and other western cities, hoping to make it there and back before the snow hit too hard. He would set up shop in a member’s driveway or a community parking lot and people would line up to get their fish. Members had to decide what they wanted on the spot, Shaun would weigh it all out and write it down, and members would head home with their seafood. Gradually, we noticed a growing number of members from Peace River and Fort St. John who would coordinate the pick-up of member orders and one person would drive all the way to Edmonton to pick them up.
Although this system worked, it also came with its obvious challenges for both us and for our Peace River and Fort St. John members. We knew they must be a better way to meet the needs of our members in Peace River!
In 2013, Annette Rosendal at Peacefull Pantry in Peace River approached us about the idea of shipping member orders directly to her in Peace River. The new system meant that Fort St. John members only needed to drive as far as Peace River to get their orders. It was better, but still not perfect!
We asked our Fort St. John members to help us find a community partner in their town and soon found ourselves with an introduction to Jim Hodak, store manager at the Butcher Block. Jim agreed to give it a try and, in October of 2015, we shipped our first member orders directly to the Butcher Block. Members came to the store to pick up their orders and were very happy with the service and convenience of being able to pick up in their own community!
We’re thrilled that Jim is happy to continue our partnership and, if you are in Fort St. John, drop by and say hello to Jim at The Butcher Block!
Check our event calendar to see when we’ll have our next Fort St. John pick-up!
