Alaska Man Makes 14-Hour Boat Ride to Help Feed Town

When the citizens of the remote Alaskan town of Gustavus, accessible only by ferry or sea plane, suddenly found themselves without their main lifeline – the State run ferry that had shut down due to COVID-19 concerns,  Toshua Parker, owner of Icy Strait Wholesale, the town’s only grocery store, stepped up to transport supplies.  He makes a 14-hour trip weekly to Juneau which is about 50 miles away to pick up supplies and groceries for his town. The journey ends up being closer to 24 hours most of the time as he is forced to adjust to tides and the only docking area on a river.  Toshua doesn’t hike up prices in his store to cover this extra effort, despite the personal cost to him, saying that it is important to give back to his neighbors right now.