FARM SHOP DIGS DEEP TO SERVE DURING CRISIS
‘IT’S like starting a new job every day so you’re just wrecked.’
For family run business Full & Plenty owned by Jolly Ronan, keeping their clients healthy and full of nutritious food has always been their top priority.
But this week owner Jolly is facing into having to shorten the hours the doors are open because of the challenging practicalities of allowing customers into what is a small premises to do what often amounts to a weekly shop.
With tears in her eyes Jolly said getting supplies in has changed.
‘Last week that was difficult because we are only small we had to elbow our way passed the big boys, but all our individual suppliers have been amazing because we have a local connection with these producers. One to one they have no problem supplying us, but if we get anything from a wholesaler then there can be a problem.’
She said people haven’t been stockpiling at Fully & Plenty.
‘ They were worried and asked us if we’ll be open. We have decided to shorten our hours now because we can’t resource it.’
Her daughter Alex said: ‘It’s very stressful.
Everything takes two, three times as long. If you are making a coffee, or sandwich, or are serving someone at the till, you have to wash their basket, wash the surfaces they have touched, wash our hands.
‘We don’t know what the right thing to do is because there are a lot of essential things that people need. We want to keep providing fruit and vegetables, that people need anyway all the time.’
Alex said: ‘ Our customers have been very supportive and positive. We’ve had lots of new people in but the people who have been shopping with us a long time have been really helpful and supportive and we really appreciate that.’
They tried to practise having two or three people in the store at any one time, but build ups occurred outside and there are issues with weather.
‘People are getting their week’s groceries so it takes them 20 minutes to get around, so we might have to give up on our deli side because it’s just taking too much time and a ham and coleslaw sandwich isn’t a necessity.’
The business has been taking orders for collection and delivering food and see of our food producers are also elderly so we’ve gone out to the boot of the car and we hand them the money in an envelope.