How do bananas, beets, oranges and onions get to Orcas Island?

||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND FOOD BANK COMMUNICATIONS TEAM ||| 

Sean Finlay

No matter where you get your fruits and vegetables on Orcas Island, there’s a good chance that they were brought here by Sean Finlay. For the past six years, Sean has driven the Charlie’s Produce truck to Orcas three times a week. His first stop off the ferry is the Orcas Hotel. From there he delivers to the Orcas Food Co-op, the Island Market, the Food Bank (Mondays only), Mijitas Mexican Kitchen (Wednesdays only), the Orcas Island School District, and, on the way back to the ferry, the Orcas Village Store.

Customers of the Orcas Island Food Bank have told us, through surveys and conversations, that their highest food priority is access to fresh fruits and vegetables. We source as much as possible from local farms. But local production alone cannot supply enough for the nearly 600 households that rely on the Food Bank each month. And much that is grown here is available only seasonally.

Sean is one of the thousands of people — farmers, packers, seamen, drivers and many others — whose work results in display cases full of beautiful produce that originates from as close as San Juan County and the Skagit Valley to as far away as South America and Asia.

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays Sean leaves his home in Fife (between Tacoma and Federal Way) at 3:15 a.m. to drive to Charlie’s Seattle Distribution Center on Second Avenue South, near Costco and the West Seattle Bridge. He hooks up a pre-loaded trailer to his tractor and heads for the Anacortes Ferry Terminal in time to make the 7:30 a.m. boat. He completes his Orcas deliveries in time to make the 12:25 p.m. ferry back to Anacortes.

The three Orcas runs add up to a 40-hour week. “When my alarm goes off at 2:45 a.m.,” says Sean, “I often don’t feel like getting out of bed. But then I think to myself, ‘Tomorrow’s my day off!’” Sean, 63, has been driving trucks since 1992, and has been working for Charlie’s Produce since 2001. His occupational involvement with food started in high school with a part-time job flipping burgers. He moved up the food chain, so to speak, including working as a cook at the restaurant atop the Space Needle. He went from cooking to truck driving, first doing home delivery for Sears. When he was laid off by Sears, he used his unemployment payments to finance training to get his Class A Commercial Driver’s License, a requirement for driving Charlie’s trailer trucks.

Sean says he has a small TV in his truck and listens to MSNBC. “Just the sound while driving!” On his days off he plays golf, participates in a book group, and spends time with his wife, Lizzie, who manages a public storage facility, and with his grandsons — a 5-year-old and an 18-month-old.

“I love the Orcas run,” says Sean. “Orcas Islanders are understanding. If we couldn’t fill part of an order, or if something is otherwise missing, they take it in stride.” “And,” he adds, “It’s beautiful here.” If you spot the Charlie’s Produce truck on the ferry line, say hello to Sean.