Revelstoke Times Review article - January 14, 2009.
By Sarah Newton
North Columbia Environmental Society

  We all know that Revelstoke has character. We have Grizzly Plaza, music in the summer, a farmer’s market and Tim Dolan in his cow van delivering dairy products, it almost makes you think we live in Pleasantville doesn’t it? The Far Side cartoon on his van announces that we are one lucky town to have milk from Sicamous delivered to our doors.  This week’s Green Business Award goes to Comfort Zone  Delivery, a business that delivers D Dutchman Dairy products in Revelstoke. 
  So what is special about Comfort Zone Delivery? “The glass bottles come filled with milk that is free from antibiotics, contains no preservatives, and is made fresh every week. The family-run dairy that provides my products is also close to Revelstoke, giving us a high quality local food source,” he says.   Dolan and his ubiquitous milk delivery van made its first delivery in August of 2005 when he had 30 customers. At present he delivers to over 225 locations in Revelstoke. Dolan says there are three main reasons why people use Comfort Zone Delivery. Firstly, there is the slow food movement. People like the idea that the product is local and from a small outfit. Secondly, people like the reduced waste the products offer.  D Dutchman’s bottles are reused thousands of times, as opposed to plastic bottles which are recycled into a much lower quality material -- if they are recycled at all. Lastly, people are going glass because some plastics are known carcinogens, and even cardboard milk boxes are lined with plastic.  

Cathleen Busch shares the attitude of many of Dolan’s customers regarding their green choices. “I have a large family and the plastic jugs took a good amount of space in our garbage can. I can’t help but feel the eight litres of bottled milk we use in the week have reduced our use and disposal of plastic. Not only that, but the distance the products have to travel to get here is less than grocery store products. Green milk -- you bet! I get the green eggs, too. I suppose if Tim sold ham! Plus I get to support a local business to boot. The health benefit is that bottles don’t leach any chemicals into my precious family members bodies or the world they live in.”

Edna Mae Johnson also commented, “our guests from all over the world are fascinated by the fact that we still have milk delivery in glass bottles. It adds to the charm of Revelstoke and to Minto Manor Bed and Breakfast specifically.”

When asked what other environmentally-friendly choices Dolan is making for his business he responds by saying, “I try to use as little paper invoicing as possible. I sell 400 dozen farm fresh eggs a month, and the egg supplier reuses the egg cartons that I take back to him from my customers.”

So what is the deal with plastic? The American Federal Department of Agriculture (FDA) calls plastic an “Indirect Food Additive.” The FDA goes on to say “plastics migrate toxins into the food they contact.” Migration is the movement of free toxins from plastic into the substances they contact -- in this case it’s our food. The manufacturer must “prove” that the migrations fall within an acceptable range. The problem is that there is a critical disparity between what levels industry and opposing scientific studies decide is acceptable. In their lifetime, one in three Canadian men, and one in two Canadian women will develop cancer. Reducing our exposure to food contained in plastic is something the consumer has control over. Having our milk in glass is like having our cake and eating it too
  Join the ranks of Revelstokians enjoying high quality, locally produced, and healthy dairy products.  You too can be like my neighbour whose fantasy was fulfilled on his first Comfort Zone Delivery, when he popped open a glass bottle of ice cold chocolate milk and drank the whole thing in one long memory of childhood!