Salute the retail heroes

LIKE the other food retailers, my business is working harder than ever to feed the nation during the Covid-19 crisis.

At a time when so many of us are safe at home, my store colleagues are on the frontline every day. All of them are true heroes in my eyes.

If you are fit and well, I urge you to head down to your high street and shop with us – or, if you must, another supermarket. Supplies have returned to something like normal and panic buying has subsided.

By doing this, you will relieve pressure on the online delivery services that are so badly needed by those who really can’t go out: the elderly, vulnerable and self-isolating.

We’ve been working very hard to increase our online delivery capacity to serve people in these priority groups. A major issue coming up is the forthcoming UK harvest, which we have traditionally depended on 80,000 migrant workers to bring in. This year they can’t be here and we’ll have to do the work ourselves. The prospects for harvesting our summer fruit and salad crops look challenging. I hope we can incentivise students and those out of work from shuttered industries to take up the role. A “Land Army Pick for Britain” campaign should help save our fruit and vegetable harvest.