Flow – Part II

By Julie Pottier-Brown, Operations Manager

We left off last week explaining the color system for each depot. When we create labels, tape a cooler, or put a dot on a flower hamper we follow this color rule: Marblehead is red, Melrose is blue and Salem is green. This visual helps us catch an item if it is staged to go to the wrong place, or if it gets left behind. Now let’s consider all the ‘stuff’ we have at the depot. 

There is the infrastructure that stays in the shed – scales, signs, tables, tents. Then there’s the stuff that flows – cajas, coolers and coolant, flower buckets, egg cartons and other returns. Some of these items flow to a nearby location, and others go west. Let’s follow one local item – the ‘extra’s for sale’ cooler to each location.

In our Marblehead warehouse (which sounds lofty and spacious but really isn’t), we have refrigerators and freezers that house perishables and Cooler Mountain (a small portion is pictured here.) We have coolers of all sizes. Big ones that will house 45 dozen eggs and tiny ones that will transport a single 8oz frozen pesto. We need these coolers to go out and come back in a weekly rotation, so we always have the right size for our needs available.

The extras cooler is filled the morning of depot day by Marion Higgins, Specialty Shares Manager. Marion also labels all cold chain and bread special orders, and carefully packs cheese, egg, pasta and mushroom shares. The Eastern route truck (driven by Dennis) gets to the warehouse at noon to onboard all the coolers, bread and general store items. Once loaded, the truck goes to meet the Western route truck (driven by Skip) at the Marblehead depot around 1pm. Marblehead’s extras cooler is placed on the extras table. The Melrose cooler is placed on the Western route truck and the Salem cooler stays on the Eastern route truck. This is just one of many items that get shuffled about at a truck split. Join us some week! It’s fun.

At the Marblehead depot, a transformation takes place. The Eastern truck turns into the Salem truck and the Western truck turns into the Melrose truck. All the food, cajas, coolers, special orders, samples, etc. are brought to their respective depots. Members arrive with empty bags and leave with bags filled with their shares. Coolers are depleted. At end of day – what happens?

In Marblehead, the coolers for the day are brought right back to the warehouse by Tamara and/or Marion and are staged for cleaning on Wednesday or Friday (the day after depot day.) In Salem and Melrose, the coolers are packed into the sheds. The Melrose shed is pictured here, half full and fairly well organized.

After picking food up from our farms on the Eastern route, the first stop Dennis makes every Tuesday and Thursday is at the Salem depot to empty the shed of coolers, cajas and all returnables that were gathered the previous depot day. Thursday’s coolers are picked up on the following Tuesday, brought back to the Marblehead warehouse, and cleaned on Wednesday. Tuesday’s coolers are picked up on Thursday, brought back to the Marblehead warehouse and cleaned on Friday.

For Melrose coolers, the Eastern Route truck heads there on Thursdays, after the Salem truck unload is complete. That truck comes all the way back to Marblehead to unload before being returned to Uhaul in Salem. 

This cooler migration pattern is just one of the many moving pieces at each depot. Next week we will look at Flow Part III – what happens to all the farm crates and boxes?

This week’s share is smaller than usual. Last week was larger than usual, and this is an adjustment week. This slightly smaller take will give us all a chance to ‘catch up’ with whats lurking in the fridge.

Look forward to acorn and spaghetti squash, apples, as well as more corn and raspberries.

Thanks for supporting local, and choosing to do so with the Farm Direct Coop.

Julie