‘I’ve worked here for 18 years and what we’re seeing now is new ... I’ve never seen demand like it’
Elaine Sharvin (37), who works in the Valley Moat Supervalu supermarket on the outskirts of Downpatrick, has had to respond to a rush for groceries since coronavirus first spread to Northern Ireland.
Elaine is married to David, the store’s deputy manager, and they have a 10-year-old son, Ben.
She explains: “We are between some large housing estates so to say we serve the community is an understatement. We’re at the heart of the community.
“Our big rush first started about two and a half weeks ago when people heard there was a patient with coronavirus in Downpatrick and there started to be a bit of a panic. Some of the schools had taken it upon themselves to shut at that point.
“Like everywhere else, there was a rush on toilet roll. We’d get orders in and they would sell out within seconds. The shop has been reconfigured to make best use of space and additional staff have been taken on.
“Of course the schools were closing as well, which affected some of our staff, but we made it work.
“Our students who work part-time were putting themselves forward for extra hours and we had a Whatsapp group for putting out messages.
“Some staff are parents who might be struggling because schools are shut, but we’ve had to make it work because, ultimately, we are in this together.”
There has also been huge demand for pasta, but says Elaine, “overall, the ‘impulse buy’ end of things like soft drinks or confectionery hasn’t really increased. Musgrave (parent company of Supervalu, Mace and Centra) has been amazing, almost like they have been a step ahead of every announcement by the government.”
She adds: “I’ve worked here for 18 years and what we’re seeing now is very new. I’ve never seen demand like it.”
❝ Like everywhere else there was a rush on toilet roll, orders would sell out within seconds
❝ The team is growing because right now as soon as stock comes in it’s going back out
Robert Gallagher, operations manager for Musgrave Group at Dargan Road in Belfast, says his team have worked 21 days straight to ensure essential food and non-food items are delivered to convenience stores here.
In his 10 years of working in the food distribution sector, he has never before experienced the volume of products coming and going at the warehouse, even at Christmas.
“Comparing it with our busiest weeks we are delivering 210% more products,” he explains.
Robert says he has grown his distribution team from the usual 90-strong workforce to 120 since the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis placed huge demand on ambient, chilled, frozen and non-food products which are delivered to the group’s Centra, Mace and Supervalu stores.
“We are now in week three. In the first week we reacted by working every hour under the sun,” he says. “In the second week we made the call to recruit people. We took on 30 new team members.”
The majority of the new workforce had been made redundant as a direct result of the Covid-19 pandemic and half of the 165 applicants had warehousing experience. “We see
Musgrave Group operations manager
the team growing because right now as soon as stock comes in it’s going back out,” he adds.
New strategies have been put in place to protect the team including social distancing, a cap on the number of people in the canteen at once, the introduction of extra smoking huts and markers on the ground as well as face masks and gloves.
The company has also reinstated night shifts and all transport staff have worked 21 days consecutively. Yesterday marked their first day off.
“Right now we want to get the food out to people. There is a sense of pride among our workforce and that’s what is keeping us going. Looking back, we were almost guilty in thinking that the pandemic wouldn’t be as big as it is now but it’s real and we are doing what we can to help.”
The Musgrave distribution team is gearing up for almost three months of the same. Robert adds: “We are assuming this level of purchasing will continue for 12 weeks to mid-june and we will work accordingly.”