Man Makes 14-Hour Boat Trip To Costco Weekly To Supply His Small Alaskan Town

For those in remote locations, the coronavirus pandemic can make things even more difficult. When items are not being shipped or places are experiencing delays, how do they get their food and supplies? In a remote Alaskan town called Gustavus, Toshua Parker owns the Icy Strait Wholesale (locals call it ToshCo). He has been making a 14-hour boat trip to the nearest Costco to stock up on essential items for other members of his small town.

Gustavus is 50 miles away from Juneau and has only 450 residents. Generally, Toshua has food and supplies shipped from Costco using the state’s ferry system. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ferry is not currently running. In addition, there was damage to the dock caused by storms.

Alaska man takes an incredible journey to make sure his town is supplied during coronavirus pandemic

The town was quickly running out of essential food and supplies, so Toshua decided to get the supplies himself. He said, “It’s funny because for us, this doesn’t seem like a big deal. Alaskans are fiercely independent and resourceful; you really have to be to survive here. So when a problem arises, we don’t typically look to someone else for help, we just find a way to do it.”

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There have been times when Toshua had to reschedule boat trips due to the weather, but he has still managed to keep his town afloat. He continued, “The town needed to be supplied with groceries so we just did whatever it took to make that happen. Just another day in our world. Next year it will be another obstacle to overcome and we’ll buck up and deal with it.”

What an incredible story!

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