Fresh Fork is a very small company and I thank each and every one of your for your support. Each of us around here - from Lauren and Katie in the warehouse to Allyson and I remote - wear many hats and have to jump in where needed. Some days, it is organizing the freezer, or driving truck, or packing totes. Then on other days, its office work and marketing.
Driving truck or packing totes can be exhausting, but there is a defined finish line. For me each week, the most rewarding but exhausting job is writing this newsletter. Deciding what to talk about, how to communicate it, and when to stop are all subjective.
Searching for Inspiration in Old LPs
Every now and then I have to search for inspiration. I flip through the paper, look at old photos, whatever. Today, it was a stack of vinyl records.
And there he was. The King. Hips thrusted and staring me in the eyes. I started thinking What Would Elvis Do?
I thinking this, I remembered visiting Graceland once years ago. There was a display about Elvis in Vegas. He first visited in 1957 or so, and wasn't well received. The audience was older and didn't participate in his show. I remember listening once to segments from those early live performances and you could hear how nervous he was and I could tell the audience was glued to their seats.
Selling Out the International Vegas
At the display at Graceland, they talked about his return to Vegas in 1969. His biggest concern was whether or not he could sell out the International Hotel's ballroom. It was a dinner show of approximately 1,000 seats.
The Colonel booked him for two shows per night for a week. All of them sold out. They started adding more shows, including a midnight show, sometimes making the total 3 shows per night. They all sold out and, reportedly, were considerably oversold.
This trend continued into 1970, then 1971, and every year until his death. In total, he sold out 837 consecutive shows in Vegas.
This was just 22 weeks, and I hope it was easy to digest
In remembering these facts, I had to remind myself that I'm just finishing a short sprint (by those standards) of 22 Newsletters in a row. I guess he really is the King, and I'm just your food dealer with a story to tell.
I hope this Newsletter has been both informational and entertaining to you. I feel quite fortunate to do what I do for a living. I enjoy the work, the food, and the people on both ends of the equation - customers and farmers.
Your support is more than monetary. Yes, supporting your local farmers hopefully rewards you with a healthier lifestyle. Hopefully it provides for added food security in our NEO Region. Hopefully it creates a more environmentally sound supply chain.
But above all, hopefully the experience you had and the knowledge you gained is shared with others, and that this is inspiration for a larger, substantial shift in consumer demand, eating habits, and how we design the future of our food systems.
Thank you again for your support.
Trevor
