upermarket lifts restrictions and reopens cafes as depots to allow customers to donate
Supermarket chain Morrisons is to distribute £10m worth of food to the UK’s food banks during the coronavirus outbreak by producing more fresh items from its own manufacturing sites and bolstering deliveries from its stores.
The UK’s largest fresh food manufacturer will this week ramp up production at its bakery, egg and fruit and vegetable packing site by an extra hour every day to make, prepare and pack essentials to help restock food banks.
The UK’s food banks have been struggling to meet demand at a time when the number of volunteers, typically older people, has slumped because of to self-isolation. It is estimated that the outbreak of Covid-19 has led to a 40% reduction in donations to community food banks across the country, when most are seeing demand for their services soar.
Morrisons is the only British supermarket to have its own sites supplying meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, bakery and other products that help to make more than half of the fresh food sold in its 495 stores. There are 14 Morrison production sites across the UK.
The retailer, which has 120,000 staff and typically serves more than 12 million customers every week, said it was planning for £10m worth of food to be distributed to food banks by July. It will also be sending deliveries of ambient food – such as canned goods and pasta – to its stores to also give to their local food bank.
To encourage customers to make donations, it is lifting purchase limits to four items and removing limits on some items altogether. Its in-store cafes – now closed for business – will be revamped as donation hubs.
The Community Pavilion are currently contacting Morrison's to see what support we can receive from this amazing commitment and donation.
We will keep you updated.
The Community Pavilion Team