The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
A new dawn for food deliveries as they come back to doorsteps
Lockdown sees surge in demand for traditional way of getting milk and fish
Scots are reverting to “the good old days” of milk and fish deliveries to their door as they stay at home during the coronavirus outbreak.
Dundee dairy firm Kerr’s Family Dairy is one of many reporting it has been inundated with new customers, after more than 300 joined its books in less than a week.
Director Kelvin Kerr Jr said: “We’re just trying to do our part. The deliveries are going really well but people like the elderly who are in that danger group are our first priority.
“Everything has changed so much from a week ago.”
He said the company had taken on new drivers in Dundee and Aberdeen who had lost jobs elsewhere due to the crisis, in a bid to keep pace with demand.
“Last week alone we gained 300 new customers and we have 400-500 emails still to get through of more new ones,” he said. “We’ve got more than 4,000 doorstep customers and glass bottle milk sales have rocketed from 13,622 a few weeks ago, to 17,073.
“Our glass bottles of orange juice sales have gone from 1,111 to more than 2,000 already and our boxes of half a dozen eggs are up to 1,400 when they are usually around 650.”
Safety is a priority and there are strict regulations governing the teams’ operations.
Kelvin said: “We’re following government guidelines and only ever have two vans loading at any one time now.
“Staff are keeping a 2m distance from one another and our doorstep deliveries are through the night so the customer will get it first thing in the morning.
“We may have to split the runs and do one in the afternoon too due to demand but it’s all non-contact.
“I’m so proud of my staff. We’re frontline and they have all been amazing.
“All of the support from the customers leaving us nice messages has just been brilliant. You really feel you’re doing your part supporting everyone.”
Richard Fisher, founder of Invercamey Dairy near Fyvie in Aberdeenshire, is also noting a large spike in demand.
“We’re only delivering to local, independent shops right now as we’ve run out of bottles,” he said.
“We’ve got 11,000 bottles in circulation and I can’t start doorstep deliveries until I receive the 20,000 additional ones I’ve ordered – which will hopefully come next week.
“I’ve had so many messages asking for this service as people are desperate to get items delivered to their door.
“I hope customers see the hard work the farmers, butchers and food producers have been putting in just now and will continue to support the local businesses after all of this.”
It is a similar story for fish vans, although there is uncertainty over how long some boats will keep going out to sea following a slump in orders from restaurants and cafés.
Stephen Bruce, owner of Peterhead Fish Company, said: “I’m doing three times as many deliveries as I’ve ever done before.
“People are just glad to get a fresh bit of fish.
“Customers can easily order online and when I deliver it, I step away from the door and customers can collect it safely.
“There’s no contact as they’ve paid with their card. I’m usually wearing gloves and a face mask.
“I’ve got a lot of customers who are getting in touch to tell me they are selfisolating so I want it to be as low risk as possible.”
Andrew Charles, partner at Aberdeen-based processors, J Charles, has joined fishing industry voices calling for more government backing.
He said: “Our customers are of an older market – we’re playing a massive part in getting through this but we’re not really being supported.
“Around 60% of our fish processors have closed down but getting fish to
people who are at home is vital for us.
“They need to recognise the key importance of how food is going to play a big role in all of this.
“Fish and chip shops have an ability to provide food for the public. Fishmongers, too, have a massive role to play in getting fresh fish to the public and hundreds of them have closed down.
“We have this wonderful product which isn’t really getting caught at the moment and our industry has technically been dismissed as an important player in this crisis.”
Mr Charles said delivery staff were playing an incredible role in the crisis.
“A lot of my customers are over 70 and we are working flat out to keep these people supplied with fish,” he said. “They are playing a vital role and there’s about 14 of them all working safely. We’ve adjusted our processes to make it work. My son, daughter and wife are all here working, too, so it’s a big effort from everyone involved.”
Edward Fletcher, owner of Granite City Fish in Aberdeen city centre, said: “We were overrun with calls yesterday. In all my 38 years working in the fish trade I’ve never heard two phones go so crazy. As soon as we hung up the phone rang again.
“We literally had to refuse delivery orders and we’ve all worked late trying to break the back of orders.
“We’re trying to get the rest of the orders out so we can clear our feet for the rest of the week – if I can get more fish at the market.
“We sold in excess of 90kg of haddock yesterday which is unheard of in my time.”