For many hungry ship crews crossing the Welland Canal, meal time comes courtesy of a family business with a century-long track record.
The Latcham family has been in the ship chandlery business since 1925-26. As part of the third generation of Latchams in the business of delivering food to ships, President Patrick Latcham has seen his share of changes in the way sailors eat.
“In the old days, you’d have bologna, canned meats and all that stuff, ”he said. “Now there’s a lot of healthier foods.
“It’s fresh fruits and vegetables – anything it takes (to keep the crew fed).”
Today, the team at Latcham PML Foods – about 20 workers strong, rising to more than 30 between May and Thanksgiving – work out of a headquarters on Glendale Avenue in St. Catharines. That’s the most recent in a series of home bases for a family business that once operated from a series of addresses in Port Dalhousie, starting out on Brock Street and later moving to 120 Main St. The company would later buy out the historic Murphy’s Restaurant property at 38 Lakeport Road, where they’d stay until 1974.
“Murphy’s was our old warehouse,” said Latcham. “We used to run out there, fire the order, and get it delivered at one of the locks.”
Heightened port security following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks changed how Latcham served ships. The company can now deliver to ships only at two wharves on the Canal, or at a designated port. Latcham has delivered food to vessels as far away as Hamilton, Oshawa, Nanticoke, Montreal, Windsor, Sarnia and Sault Ste. Marie.
Even how crews eat has changed. Modern ships have smaller crews than in previous generations, Latcham said. Each vessel may have only one cook. Nevertheless, foods have gotten healthier. While in the old days, marinersw ould pack on weight from unhealthy diets, new technologies have allowed stable milk and fresh produce to be carried aboard. More sailors today hail from countries like India and the Philippines, and they’ve brought their food preferences with them.
Some traditions have remained, however: Saturday nights, said Latcham, are steak nights for ship crews on the Great Lakes.
The company has expanded its business over the years. Today, Latcham delivers dairy, groceries, meat and products like fresh chicken wings to more than 1,000 customers throughout Niagara, Hamilton and Burlington. They also operate Niagara’s Ice, a packaged ice business
Nevertheless, ships remain a steady source of business, Latcham said. “They’re sailing. They need food every two weeks.” The company keeps delivering to them even when the Welland Canal closes for the winter.
