food and drink – Page 85 – The NEN

An update from Sainsbury’s Chief Executive Mike Coupe

I wrote to you last week to update you on how we are supporting elderly and vulnerable customers with access to groceries online. I wanted to share some progress we have made on this over the past few days.

When I wrote last, we had offered 450,000 elderly and vulnerable customers priority booking to online delivery. At the end of last week we received the government database, which includes details of all the people in England who have registered with the government to say that they are vulnerable and need help getting a food shop.

Since then we have been able to match almost 150,000 additional customers against our database. We have already contacted almost 30,000 of those and so we are now contacting almost 120,000 additional customers to offer them a priority delivery slot.

We are waiting for the databases for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and will contact vulnerable customers in those areas as soon as we are able.

We know many elderly and vulnerable people who need to self-isolate are relying on the kindness of family, friends and local communities to shop on their behalf and we encourage this.

You wrote to tell me that product limits were a barrier to being able to shop for other people. We understand that it can be difficult to buy what you need and shop for someone else with the 3 item product limit.

We have now lifted buying restrictions on thousands of products and hope that this will help more of you to shop for others. I also want to reassure you that stock levels are now much better right across the store.

We are keeping limits on the most popular items for now, including pasta, UHT milk, antibacterial products and some tinned and frozen foods. But you can now feel confident in shopping in our stores at any time of day and being able to find most of what you need.

To help people shop for others easily, we will be introducing a new volunteer gift card and online voucher in the next week or two. I will share more information on this soon.

Many of you have also written to me to tell me about food banks and community groups near you that are struggling in this crisis. We know from our ongoing support of food banks that this is a particularly tough time for them right across the country.

To help with this, we have donated £3 million to Fareshare, who will use that money to distribute donated food to the people who need it the most.

We are also partnering with Comic Relief and the BBC on The Big Night In which aims to raise money for people impacted by COVID 19. We’ll be sharing more information on this in stores and online.

Best wishes

Mike

How to make food stretch further

From freezing leftovers to serving smaller portion sizes and bulking out dishes with vegetables, families have been offered advice on how to make their food shop last longer.

Penny-pinching gurus from TheMoneyPig.com have revealed six ways to help make the food Brits have in their cupboards last longer than normal, if households are self-isolating.

By taking an inventory of all the food in the cupboards and freezer, families will be able to create meals around the food they have in the house, without needing to buy extra ingredients.

Padding dishes out with cheap vegetables will also help reduce the amount of meat needed, and it’ll also help make more portions whilst bringing the cost down.

A spokesperson from TheMoneyPig.com said: “In these difficult times it’s important to make sure that the food you have managed to buy lasts as long as possible, whilst also keeping everyone full.

“That means throwing little to nothing away and adding cheap ingredients to meals like Spaghetti Bolognese or Chilli con Carne to really bulk them out.

“A lot of these suggestions are to do with the way you store food, and ensuring you use up tins with the shortest use by date first.

“Opting for cheaper options of some ingredients will also help keep the price of dishes down, and of course being able to make more portions out of the same dish will help with this too.”

Here are six ways TheMoneyPig.com says you can make food go further:

Freeze

The amount of foods that you can actually freeze is quite surprising, meaning it’s kept in an edible state for longer. As long as you freeze and defrost the foods safely, they should be able to stay in the freezer for as long as you need them to. Everything from meat and milk to fruit and eggs can be stored in the freezer.

If you have extra portions of dishes, these can also be frozen for a later date instead of being thrown out.

Cupboard

Many people will have cupboards and pantries full of old tins which they haven’t used. Try and create meals around the tins with the nearest sell-by dates, as the newer tins will last longer. This also means that you may not need to buy as much food as you may have previously thought.

Inventory

Write an inventory of all the food you have in the house. You can then create and make meals with these foods instead of needing to buy ingredients for recipes you would normally eat. As your inventory and list decreases you will also be able to see what food you need to buy when you go shopping. Doing this will also force you to be a bit more creative with the meals you make, pushing you out of your comfort zone by learning new recipes.

Vegetables

Using vegetables, beans and pulses to fill out dishes such as Bolognese and other pastas means that the amount of meat needed is reduced. You will get more portions out of the dish which will help reduce costs. It will also be much healthier, helping to reach the goal of 5 fruit and veg a day.

Portion control

As easy as it is to assume a chicken breast will feed just one person, weighing the raw weight of ingredients will ensure that everyone is eating adequately without overeating, meaning you can get more meals out of your food.

Drink

The more liquid you drink, especially water, the fuller you will feel. Although you should still be eating your main meals, drink lots of water before and during mealtimes, and filling up on water may help keep the snacking at bay, which means these foods can be used in larger meals later on.

Coronavirus food fund: support to put meals on tables

Families unable to access food as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak will get support from local authorities with £30 million of new investment from the Scottish Government Food Fund.

The funding will support those most in need including families with children who are eligible for free school meals, older people, those with long-term health conditions and pregnant women.

Councils will have flexibility to use this additional resource in ways that best meet emerging local needs and circumstances, working with community groups and businesses to support home delivery, provide financial help and meet dietary requirements.

Allocations include more than £4.7 million for Glasgow, £1.65 million for Edinurgh and £2.2 million for Fife.

The funding, one part of the £350 million Communities Fund, will be distributed to councils across Scotland by COSLA.

Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said: “This pandemic is impacting on all our lives but for some it is more than a disruption, it is severely restricting their ability to access food for themselves and their families.

“It is vital that we work together to ensure the most vulnerable people in our communities receive the support they need.

“Local authorities are uniquely placed to respond swiftly in partnership with community groups and organisations to help those struggling.

“We know that free school meals are vital for families across the country and an important way of ensuring their children receive the nutritious food they need. That is why it is so important that support continues while schools remain closed.

“This fund will help ensure the most vulnerable people in our society during this outbreak receive support. The guidance shared with local authorities today supports local thinking about how funding can best be targeted and deployed.”

COSLA Children and Young People spokesperson Councillor Stephen McCabe said: “Access to food is a current and vital concern for many people in our communities. Councils are committed to working flexibly, ensuring local access for those who are vulnerable or isolating and to maintain access to free school meals for entitled families.

“Local Authorities will continue to work with and for local people to ensure provision that is right for them. We welcome the food fund guidance produced by Scottish Government that supports this local decision making.”

COSLA Resources spokesperson Councillor Gail Macgregor said: “As a result of Covid-19, greater numbers of people are at risk of food insecurity. Councils are facing additional challenges in ensuring food reaches those most in need.

“In these challenging times, we welcome the Scottish Government’s announcement of additional funding.”

Edinburgh’s council leaders have also welcomed news of the Scottish Government’s Food Fund, which will provide Edinburgh with an additional £1.651 million to help feed the city’s most at-risk residents.

Council leader Cllr Adam Mcvey said: “No one should be left feeling hungry and without enough food because they’re self-isolating. We’re here to help our most vulnerable residents through this difficult time and we’ll do everything in our power to support them.

“Already, we’ve been delivering food parcels to those in our care and thousands of families who might be struggling while schools are closed. The £1.65 million we’ll receive from the Scottish Government as part of their Coronavirus Food Fund is hugely welcome and will allow us to build on this work, as long as there is a local need.”

Depute Leader, Cammy Day, added: “There has been an incredible response from local communities working together to reduce the risk of food poverty and while there is no shortage of food overall, it’s increasingly difficult for people who can’t leave their homes to get the supplies they need.

“One of the actions we’ve already taken is to provide additional cash support to eligible families with school children. We now need to work hard over the coming days to identify how to best use this additional funding to support Edinburgh’s residents, working closely with local communities and charities, who are already supporting vulnerable people with essential basic food supplies.”

The £350 million Communities Fund was first announced by Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell on 18 March 2020.

Since it was announced, over £100 million of new support has been delivered to local authorities to assist their efforts. This includes £50 million in hardship funding, £22 million to bolster the Scottish Welfare Fund and £30 million from the Food Fund.

The guidance shared with local authorities outlines seven key principles to support local thinking about how funding can best be targeted and deployed.

People worried about food during the COVID-19 crisis should contact their local authority for further information on the help and support available to them.

Feeding the nation our daily bread

Feeding the nation is an essential part of us getting through the current crisis, so the trade union Usdaw and trade association Scottish Bakers have combined to acknowledge and welcome the crucial work bakers are doing to literally put our daily bread, savoury snacks and sweet treats on the table in extremely difficult circumstances.

Dave Gill, Usdaw National Officer, says: “Usdaw members throughout the food supply chain are doing essential work to keep us all fed. From manufacturing to distribution to retail, the country could not continue in these trying times without them.

“Staff are of course deeply concerned about their own personal safety, at a time when everyone who can has been instructed to stay at home. We are working with employers to promote necessary safety standards in essential workplaces, helping to ensure social distancing and hygiene standards are met.

“Usdaw continues support and advise our members through this difficult period and stands ready to resolve any issues of concern with their employer.”

Alasdair Smith – Scottish Bakers Chief Executive says: “Across the country our members are still baking and serving their communities with fresh baked goods. Many of our bakers have strong community links too and are going further with deliveries to vulnerable groups and those in self-isolation and we applaud them for their dedication.

“Throughout the current health crisis Scottish Bakers has worked with members to ensure they fully understand the demands of safe social distancing and so can continue to operate safely keeping their workforce and customers safe and well.”

Morrisons: Feeding the Nation update

Thank you to all our customers and Morrisons Key workers for your patience, consideration and support in the face of the Coronavirus challenge we are all facing right now.

I’d like to share with you some of the initiatives we’ve been working hard to deliver over this last week.

Till Screens

We’ve installed protective screens on all checkouts, in all stores. A huge achievement with great feedback from our customers and Key Workers.

Home Shopping

Our home shopping business is experiencing unprecedented high demand at the moment. We are working extremely hard to create as many delivery slots as we can. We have taken on an extra 3,000 Key Workers and are on track to increase capacity by 60% by the end of April.

And we’ve launched our Morrisons Food Box service which delivers 2 types of food box to the most vulnerable customers during self isolation.

Contactless Limit Increase

The Contactless card limit is being raised from £30 to £45 in all stores by Friday 3rd April. Please use contactless payments whenever you can as this will help reduce the need for physical contact between customers and our Key Workers.

Paying Our Suppliers

We know the increased demand on our smaller suppliers has been significant and to help them get through any difficulties caused by the spread of Coronavirus and ensure we play our part in working together, we have been paying our suppliers immediately since we first announced this in mid-March.

Join us and, together, we can help feed some of the most in need …

We’ve set up local food bank donation areas in all stores to help everybody play their part in Feeding The Nation. We’re running our manufacturing sites for an extra hour on top of the already longer production runs to help us jointly contribute £10 million by July. Supplies in our local food banks have been severely reduced in recent weeks and they need us now more than ever. If you can donate a grocery item, then please do.

CAMRA welcomes confirmation in law on pub deliveries and takeaways

The emergency Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill passed by the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday confirms that pubs can sell alcohol and food to take-away or for home delivery, where it is safe to do so.

The legislation clarifies that pubs across the country can continue to sell alcohol for consumption off the premises, as well as take-away or home delivery of food if this was previously provided on the premises.

Any pubs continuing to offer take-away or delivery services must adhere to the Scottish Government’s safe social distancing guidance, as well as complying with all other standard health and safety requirements.

This includes making sure that there is a distance of at least two metres between staff and any customers collecting items, and control of queues outside the premises consistent with social distancing advice.

CAMRA Director for Scotland Sarah Crawford said: “The fact that this emergency legislation puts it beyond doubt that pubs can sell alcohol for consumption off the premises, and offer food for takeaway or delivery where the pub previously offered food, will be welcome news for pubs who are still looking to offer services throughout the COVID-19 restriction.

“This will need to be done safely and in line with strict social distancing measures, but it does mean that communities who want to continue to support their local can do so. This will be especially important in our rural communities, where the local pub may be the only accessible business in the area.

“CAMRA is continuing to call on the UK and Scottish Governments to make sure that pubs of all types and sizes receive the support they need to get through the coronavirus crisis, so they can keep paying staff and are able to re-open and thrive once this is over.”

I’ll drink to that …

Morrisons thanks staff with threefold increase in bonus for next 12 months

Full time colleagues will earn a bonus of £1,050 compared to around £350 average last year
The special bonus is the largest for frontline supermarket staff announced in recent weeks

Morrisons is recognising the huge effort by its colleagues who are helping to feed the nation during the coronavirus outbreak by increasing this year’s annual bonus payout threefold from last year.

Morrisons annual colleague bonus will become a ‘thank you’ bonus with the increase lasting for the next 12 months.

Because it will be a percentage of the entire year’s pay, frontline colleagues at Morrisons will see the largest special bonus of those announced over the last few weeks in the supermarket sector.

Morrisons colleagues have worked tirelessly to help meet demand and to thank them they will see these changes to the current bonus scheme:

All frontline colleagues will receive a 6% bonus on their earnings for the next 12 months rather than just the next 8-12 weeks
The changes represent a bonus payment of £1,050 for a full-time frontline colleague compared to the £351 that would have been paid last year
The bonus will be guaranteed in recognition of the effort made by very hard working colleagues
It will be paid quarterly so colleagues don’t have to wait until next year to be paid
The bonus will continue to be paid as a percentage of actual earnings as per previous years
Colleagues who are off sick or are self-isolating will remain eligible
Both permanent and temporary colleagues will be eligible in recognition of the thousands of new colleagues who have joined Morrisons in recent weeks.

Clare Grainger, Group People Director said: “Our highly valued colleagues have stood tall amidst the coronavirus pandemic, playing their full part in feeding the nation.

“We want to thank every single one of them for their continued hard work during these unprecedented times by paying a much higher guaranteed bonus for the whole year in recognition of their effort.”

Morrisons frontline salaried managers are also guaranteed to receive a bonus that will be twice their maximum yearly amount in a normal year, again guaranteed and paid quarterly.

The bonus overhaul is the latest change that Morrisons has put in place for its highly valued colleagues.

Previous measures include paying extremely vulnerable and high risk colleagues 12 weeks paid leave to self isolate as well as paying 12 weeks paid leave to colleagues who live with someone who is high risk and extremely vulnerable.

In store, perspex screens have been installed to protect colleagues and customers while paying for groceries at the checkouts and social distancing measures have been introduced.

#ItsMoreThanOurJob

Update from Sainsbury’s Chief Executive Mike Coupe

I’ve written to you regularly over the past few weeks as we adapt the way we work to keep our shelves full while keeping you and our colleagues safe.

We continue to make changes in line with government guidelines and in response to feedback from you and our colleagues.

I am writing today to tell you about measures we are taking to protect our customers and colleagues and to update you on our product availability and on how we continue to support our elderly and vulnerable customers.

Keeping our customers and colleagues safe

Keeping you and our colleagues safe is our number one priority. This week we have brought in further measures to help you keep a safe distance from other customers and from our colleagues when you are visiting our stores.

We have queuing systems in place outside stores and ask you to please queue at a safe distance of two metres apart. Please also try to keep a safe distance from other customers and from our colleagues when you are doing your shop. We have placed clear markings on shop floors to help you know what a safe distance is.

From today, we are asking everyone to please only send one adult per household to our shops.

This helps us keep people a safe distance apart and also helps to reduce queues to get into stores. Our store teams will be asking groups with more than one adult to choose one adult to shop and will ask other adults to wait. Children are of course welcome if they are not able to stay at home.

To help keep our colleagues safe while serving customers, we now have screens at most manned checkouts. In the next few days we will have finished installing the screens across all manned checkouts in every supermarket, convenience store and Argos collection point.

Feeding the nation

We have been working hard with our suppliers to improve our product availability. Most people are now just buying what they need for themselves and their families. This means we now often have stock on the shelves all day and at the end of the day.

People have been queuing to get into our stores when they open in the mornings, but customers are now finding they can shop at any time of the day and feel confident in finding most of what they need.

As stock continues to build, we have been reviewing whether we still need to limit the number of items people buy. I am pleased to tell you that we will start to remove limits from Sunday. Limits will remain in place on the most popular items which include UHT milk, pasta and tinned tomatoes.

We have removed limits from Easter eggs immediately as we know families often want to buy more than three and we have plenty of these in all stores and online.

Supporting elderly and vulnerable customers

We are continuing to prioritise elderly and vulnerable customers for online delivery slots and our customer Careline has helped 170,000 customers, who will now get priority access to online delivery. In total, we have offered priority booking to more than 450,000 elderly or vulnerable customers.

I apologise to customers who have been struggling to get through to our online team. The team is working at full capacity and we are doing our very best to get to people as quickly as possible.

We are expanding our groceries online service as much and as quickly as we can. Two weeks ago we had 370,000 online grocery slots available. By the end of next week we will have increased this to 600,000 across home delivery and click and collect and we will continue to add more capacity over the coming weeks.

Supporting our colleagues

Our colleagues really are doing a remarkable job. I have been into a number of stores over the past few days and have been struck by their dedication and their determination to do the best job for our customers. These are very uncertain times and our colleagues really are on the frontline.

We are doing everything we can to keep our colleagues safe and this includes supporting them if they need to self-isolate. Where colleagues are considered vulnerable, we are paying them in full for the recommended 12 weeks self-isolation, including colleagues who live with extremely vulnerable family members who the government has asked to shield for 12 weeks.

I am personally committed to ensuring the safety of our colleagues and we will continue to do the right thing to protect them throughout this time.

I have been delighted to see that customers have told us they think colleague friendliness is at an all-time high at the moment. I think this is real testament both to the hard work of our colleagues and also the fantastic recognition they are getting for the vital role they are playing throughout this crisis.

Thank you for treating our colleagues with the respect and kindness they deserve. They really are doing their best to serve our customers well in these challenging times.

Best wishes

Mike

Heart Research UK Healthy tip: Easy ways to get your 5-a-day!

Eating five portions of fruit and veg every day can help keep your heart healthy and reduce the risk of heart disease. As supermarket shelves are emptier than usual, Heart Research UK have some tips to help you achieve your 5-a-day during this challenging time.

What counts as a portion?

Eighty grams of fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and veg or 30g dried fruit count as one portion. For example, one fresh pear or banana, two small plums, or three heaped tablespoons of peas. Beans and pulses also count, but you should only count these once as they contain fewer nutrients compared to other fruit and veg. 150ml of fruit/vegetable juice or smoothie also counts, but you should limit these drinks to no more than one a day due to the sugars they contain.

Top up with lentils

Lentils are a versatile ingredient and a great source of fibre, which is good for heart health. Try replacing some of the meat in your bolognese sauce with a handful of lentils or try adding lentils to homemade soups.

Include tinned, frozen and dried fruit and veg in your meals

As the population is being encouraged to make fewer trips to the supermarket, you may find that you need to rely on the food in your store cupboard and freezer more than usual. Try adding dried or frozen fruit to your bowl of breakfast cereal in the morning and include a variety of frozen or tinned veg with your evening meals. Tinned fruit with yoghurt can also provide you with a healthy dessert.

Enjoy homemade soups for lunch

Homemade soups are an easy way to increase your veg intake. You can include a variety of tinned, fresh and frozen veg in soups. There are lots of healthy vegetable soup recipes available online, but here is one to get you started.

Easy-peasy pea soup.

1 tbsp rapeseed oil or vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
400g frozen peas, defrosted
500ml vegetable stock
Salt and pepper
Fresh mint, finely chopped (optional)

Heat the oil over a medium heat and stir in the chopped onion. Gently fry the onion until soft, but not browned. Add the peas and stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Puree the soup using a blender and add salt and pepper to taste. If you have fresh mint available, you can add this at the end.

Vulnerable people struggle to get essentials

Three-quarters of the population have experienced shortages of products when shopping in recent weeks, with vulnerable consumers among those struggling to get hold of essentials, new research from Which? has found.

In a survey of more than 2,000 members of the public on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak carried out between 20th-24th March, three-quarters (76%) reported experiencing shortages of products in supermarkets, shops or online.

A third (34%) said they could not find hand sanitisers while around a quarter could not find toilet rolls (27%) and rice and pasta (25%).

The coronavirus outbreak has also impacted shopping habits, with around a third (32%) saying they have shopped at independent and convenience stores more than usual.

While supermarkets have maintained there is plenty of food available to feed the nation, many stores have struggled to keep their shelves stocked around the clock to meet the sudden increase in demand, while online shopping delivery slots are booked up weeks in advance.

Major retailers have been seeking to address these issues by hiring thousands of extra staff, limiting purchases of some items and prioritising NHS workers and vulnerable customers at certain times, while the government has relaxed competition laws to allow supermarkets to work together on maintaining supplies of essential goods.

The government has also made plans to deliver weekly food parcels to more than a million people who have been identified as medically vulnerable.

Worryingly, in another survey of Which? members carried out in the same time period, thousands said they had experienced food shortages, including reports from some vulnerable customers who said they had struggled to get the products they needed.

One Which? member said they were struggling to get fresh food such as bread, vegetables and milk, particularly as they had been advised to stay indoors due to their age and had been unable to secure an online delivery slot.

Another member from rural Scotland said their local supermarkets, which are nine miles away, were filled with empty shelves. As these stores were relatively small, they had not yet introduced special opening times for older or vulnerable customers but were closing earlier.

Which? found that product shortages were experienced relatively evenly across all regions of the country, suggesting the issue was widespread.

The measures introduced by the supermarkets and the government appear to be having some impact and a number of supermarkets have recently been able to relax some of the restrictions that they put in place. The situation around the country continues to change regularly.

However, more must still be done to ensure effective coordination and clear communication across the country so that people are clear on the best way to access the food they need. This includes people the government has identified as vulnerable as part of its coronavirus guidance, as well as those who may be vulnerable because of their wider circumstances.

The government must also work with the food industry to develop an effective contingency plan to avoid any future disruption to supply chains, as well as addressing these issues of availability and distribution.

Sue Davies, Head of Consumer Protection and Food Policy at Which?, said: “Millions of people have been experiencing product shortages in supermarkets, with all parts of the country affected. While many can adapt their shopping habits, it is particularly concerning that we are hearing from vulnerable consumers who are struggling to get hold of essentials.

“Supermarkets must continue to work with the government to explore innovative solutions that ensure people have access to essential food supplies in the challenging weeks and months ahead.

“With coronavirus restrictions expected to last months, the government must ensure that there is more effective coordination of food supplies and clearer communication. All consumers, but particularly people who are vulnerable, need to have a much clearer route to access the right help and food supplies for their needs.”