Identify the actual collection premises

Use the shop, packing room or authorised goods entrance where the finished orders will be released. A farm’s mailing address may not identify the pickup gate. Provide directions and a working contact, including any access restriction relevant to the selected vehicle.

Tell WTM the load will be ready only when packaging, labelling and the producer’s release checks are complete. A list of customer purchases is not a description of the final transport load. Count the boxes or containers and provide their external dimensions and gross weight.

Make pickup-point responsibilities explicit

A Calgary collection point needs a named person authorised to accept the full delivery and manage storage until customers collect. Agree which orders belong at each point. A venue that allows customers to gather does not necessarily provide refrigerated receiving or permission for unattended delivery.

For example, a producer could prepare individually labelled orders within numbered transport totes for two staffed locations. The receiver can count the totes at the handoff, while the producer’s own order list supports customer distribution. WTM does not allocate unlabelled goods between customers on arrival.

Keep temperature groups separate in the request

Describe chilled and frozen products separately and provide the required range for each. Do not assume a single compartment or setpoint can meet every product’s needs. WTM can assess appropriate equipment and the booked sequence using the instructions you provide.

The CFIA food-safety programme guidance discusses food conveyances and loading practices that prevent contamination. Use your established food controls when preparing and releasing the consignment, including any reporting requirement requested by the buyer.

Plan returns of containers independently

After customers collect their orders, empty totes may need to come back. State whether they are clean, what they previously carried and how they will be packed. The food business determines cleaning and reuse requirements; a return collection is not evidence that the containers have been sanitised.

Use shipment history to track recurring order patterns and discuss the next dispatch with accurate volumes. The delivery POD records the agreed handoff, not the later distribution of products to every retail customer.

Farm-shop questions

Can a rural producer request collection rather than drive into Lethbridge?

Yes. Provide the exact access point so the collection can be assessed and quoted.

Can orders be left at an empty pickup point?

Do not assume that arrangement. Establish an authorised receiving and storage plan before dispatch.