We’ve talked before about how the majority of things that are shipped from place to place arrive on a pallet, but what kinds of products are on the pallets in the trucks that we see on our roads every day? One of the largest product markets is, unsurprisingly, food.
Kamps Pallets began in Grand Rapids, Michigan forty-two years ago and now has locations in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, the first three of which make up about a quarter of the Midwest. The Midwest is known as the breadbasket of America for the abundant cereal crops it produces, including wheat, oats, and corn. Soy is another very large crop for Midwestern farmers, and these foods are found in abundance in the American diet. Farmers in Michigan grow a large variety of produce, more than any other state except for California. This is possible because the Great Lakes shelter Michigan from the extremes of heat and cold other Midwestern states experience. A more temperate climate allows for the growing of fruit. There are so many great foods and beverages that are made from fruit or use fruit in them, and Michigan is rich in fruit.
Consider for a moment the path that your food takes before it gets to your plate. Unless you grew it in your backyard, almost everything you purchase to eat has at some point been on the back of a truck even your organic CSA share vegetables. That means it’s also been on a pallet.
The great thing about pallet shipping is that it’s such a simple logistics solution, and this cuts down on the time it takes getting food from the field to the grocery store. This means that a varied, interesting diet that is also fresh on your plate is now possible in a way that it wasn’t for our grandparents. We all benefit from greater food choice, and part of that is due to the simple pallet.
