Talking Allergies

Chapman's Ice Cream plant in Markdale was destroyed in a fire Friday September 4th. Chapman's distribution centre was not affected and so there should be no problem filling orders.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2009 ... 6-sun.html

Firstly and most importantly, thank goodness none of the 200 people on shift at the time were hurt or worse. Wow, they obviously have very good fire drill practices!!! I also really feel for the 400 people off work right now, in this economy I'm sure it is the last thing a small community needs. I hope they can rebuild and get people working again as soon as possible.

Lastly and selfishly, I'm glad I have a small freezer in the basement to stock up on ice cream for the boy

I was away on the weekend and was shocked to read this in the Globe and Mail.

I feel so bad for Chapman's, one of the real good guys for we allergy people.
Owner Penny Chapman says this in the Globe story:



Globe story is here: http://tinyurl.com/knarwn
I'm going to Sobey's tonight. Will buy a bunch of Chapman's pn-free ice cream in support / their honour.

Edited to fix bad link.

I emailed them as if our son was the one writing. I let them know how happy he is that no one was hurt and that we (he) really appreciated their nut free plant. Hopefully they will be able to rebuild soon (with another nut free plant!!) and he'll be waiting to buy more Chpaman's ice cream.

The Toronto Star did a story today about how truly exceptional the Chapman's are as employers.
They're really trying to take care of their thrown-out-of-work employees, who are very loyal. One said:



Star article: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/693434

At AL we're all pulling for them.

Oh my - in this day and age, stories like this just warm your heart!

Photo's so sad though. Place really went up like a torch hit it.

That is one of the most touching stories I've read in ages. It makes me want to go work for Chapman's . I can't believe companies like this still exist, truly heart warming.
Maybe some good will come of the fire, Canadians will see what an exceptional company Chapman's is and hopefully when they rebuild business is busier than ever.

Spoke to Penny Chapman this a.m. The Chapmans are determined to keep going on the allergy-friendly and gluten-free fronts.

She asked that I share this statement from her.

From Penny Chapman, President, Chapman's Ice Cream

On Friday September 4th Chapman’s Ice Cream suffered a devastating fire at our main production facility.

This will cause some disruption to our manufacturing and distribution of product.
We are doing our best to service all our customers for as long as our current stock will allow us. However, there may be a period of time where some flavours or items are not available.

Please bear with us as we rebuild our production. You may not be able to locate the flavours you hope for, but in time we will be back and we will continue to service our customers with the same satisfaction we have in the past.

Thank you for all your support and well wishes.

AOL video gives full sense of what the Chapmans have been going through:

http://video.aol.ca/video-detail/chapma ... 1216921286

But let's not say "RIP" as the video does at the end. Let's stay loyal to the brand, keep buying, keep asking for. Support them as they regroup and rebuild.

I'm so glad Chapman's was able to pull through after this devastation. Years ago, when this fire took place, I was worried that they would be no longer. I'm so glad Chapman's is still a vital part of my gluten-free diet. It's hard to find gluten-free food that still taste good. And I love their ice cream, too!

Such wonderful product!! Love that they make 'fancy' treats like those cones and ice creamsn on a stick.

I also think they are great. It is nice to have a treat with no concern. I did write them about a month ago asking if they could make cookies and cream ice cream or the ever popular (that I can't have) cookie dough. (when in phoenix at spring time I did find cookies and cream that I could have, in 10 days I must have had three buckets! )

They did tell me that plans for next year there will be cookies and cream. I think that is great but for those of us allergic to coconut I am sure I will not be able to have it.

Ooooh, we had raspberry ripple a couple of weeks ago. Must get more.

We can't have Our Compliments (our standby while Chapman got going again) as it "may contain" now.

I'm sure happy things are well again at Chapmans. My husband and I saw a commercial the other night, don't know what channel (probably sports). It was really nice. She was thanking us.


Michele

Check out Giant Tiger if you really want Chapman's selection!!! Our other stores may have 3 flavours but Giant Tiger has at least 6 ice cream flavours, fudgsicles, sandwiches, caramel fudgsicles, popsicles with yogurt, lactose free sandwiches and more! Careful that they also carry the products with nuts.


Do you remember what brand it was that you found in Phoenix? We have looked on every trip to the USA for not free ice cream. The only nut-free frozen products we have found are some popsicles and sara lee pies/cheesecakes.