The Bethel Airlift: Beleaguered Alaskan Town Receives 10,000 Tacos

See Also:The Tacocopter Might Be A Hoax, But Don't Give Up the Dream Bethel, Alaska is a small town of just over 6,000 residents isolated by unforgiving geography and accessible only by water and air. Early last month, the town wrestled with grief after it discovered that the Taco Bell...

By Ando Muneno

July 3, 2012

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18478561",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "16759093",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759092",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "17980324",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "16759094",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 24
        }
      ]

Bethel, Alaska is a small town of just over 6,000 residents isolated by unforgiving geography and accessible only by water and air. Early last month, the town wrestled with grief after it discovered that the Taco Bell "coming soon" signs around town were a cruel hoax and that it forever would be doomed to flying all the way to Anchorage to satisfy fourth-meal cravings.

But in a moment of shocking corporate responsibility and/or brilliant PR, Taco Bell announced that, while it couldn't open a permanent location in Bethel, it would definitely throw a free taco party for the town. Taco Bell documented the event on Twitter.

This taco Iditarod run involved Taco Bell staging over a thousand pounds of food on a mobile truck and flying it all out to Bethel over the weekend. Transport from the airport to the town was accomplished by the expedient and awesome method of helicoptering the Taco Bell truck to its final destination.

So how badly did the residents of Bethel want Taco Bell? Just check out the size of the line:

Follow Chow Bella on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Phoenix, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.