Headline, June 02 2022/ APPS : ''' '' FAST ALASKA FOOD '' '''

APPS : ''' '' FAST 

ALASKA FOOD '' '''

FAST-FOOD ORDERS TAKE FLIGHT IN ALASKA. With the help of bush pilots, remote villagers can satisfy their cravings for city fare.

ROBERT GOLIKE SAID HE FELT THE WORLD'S MOST expensive food-delivery driver - but that's probably because he uses a Cessna.

On a recent morning, Mr. Golike, a pilot for Alaska Air Transit, was on the tarmac of Merrill Field in Anchorage, loading up a nine-seater plane with mail, produce and diapers, among other freight. He was set to fly those essentials to the Upper Kuskokwim region, more than 200 miles away.

Also on board was perhaps the most. eagerly anticipated cargo : two Door-Dash orders. One was streak tacos and churros from Pedro's Mexican Grill in Anchorage, and the other an array of Chinese takeout classics from Famous Wok, including to mein, beef broccoli and General Tso's chicken.

Awaiting delivery on the other end were Natalia Navarro and her family, who look forward to their ''city food'' fixes with relish.

''You can order anything you want,'' Ms. Navarro said. ''And once you get it, you really, really savour it.''

But before they could dig in, the pilot first had to ferry the order on the long air journey over the silty waters of Cook Inlet, the craggy snow-covered peaks of the Alaska Range and the lake-pocked terrain near the airstrip in Nikolai where he would land.

There, the box food, [ only slightly crushed ] was passed on to Ms. Navarro, 29, who works as a health aide at the village clinic. There are no grocery stores or restaurants in that community of fewer than 100 people, so once or twice a month her family orders from DoorDash to break the monotony of the chicken and moose-based soups and stews.

After microwaving their order, which had been delivered to the Anchorage airport the previous afternoon, Ms. Navarro and her family dug in.

''It's not hot,'' she said. ''It's not fresh. But at the same time, it has the flavour you're wanting.''

To satisfy such cravings, an intricate supply chain of delivery drivers, airline office employees and pilots help bring a taste of the city to bush and tundra.

Alaska Air Transit is one of the dozens of small regional airlines flying people and cargo to hundreds of remote communities across Alaska - everyday essentials like Netflix DVDs, outdoor gear and groceries, but also pizzas, Big Macs and tightly wrapped containers of pho.

Supanika Ordonez said that five years ago, when she lived in Fort Yukon - a village just north of the Arctic Circle, along the Yukon River -it was a thrill to get pizza from Fairbanks, 140 miles away. There was nowhere to go out to eat in Fort Yukon, and only one small village store.

A few times she added an airport delivery from the Pizza Hut [whose food kept best on the plane trip] to her monthly order of groceries.

At the time, she said, the only delivery options to the airport were pizza and Chinese food. ''I craved other stuff, but they didn't have the DoorDash back then,'' Ms. Ordonez, 35.

TODAY with the ubiquity of food-delivery services, people living in places with no restaurants or grocery stores have access to all the cuisines the nearest city has to offer.

When Mr. Golike, 38, travels to locations in Prince Williams Sound, food-delivery orders are on nearly every flight. ''KFC is the biggest one I see,'' he said.

Midnight Air and Anchorage air-taxi service carries DoorDash and Uber Eats orders on its flights about three times a week, said its owner, Robert May.

Lake & Peninsula Airlines, a regional carrier serving the Lake Clark and Kuskokwim regions of southwest Alaska, delivers Instacart orders every day, and DoorDash orders '' probably every other day,'' said Katie Burrows, 29, an office assistant for the airline.

As an owner of Alaska Air Transit, Josie Owen has seen how delivery apps have made the city more available to those with no access to the state's main road system. 

The Honour and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research on Alaska, Cravings, City Fare, continues. The World Students Society thanks author Victoria Petersen.

With respectful dedication to the People of Alaska, and then Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all prepare and register for Great Global Elections on The World Students Society - for every subject in the world : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter - !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

Good Night and God Bless

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