Mail on Sunday on food supply to care homes and hospitals
Written by Defra Press Office
The Mail on Sunday has run an article on what is being done to ensure the health and social care sectors have an adequate food supply in the upcoming weeks. The piece describes some wholesalers which face insolvency due to the widespread closure of restaurants and claims this could have a knock on effect on food supply to care home and hospitals. Despite approaching us for a comment, the journalist has not carried our statement in the story.
The fact is we are working with organisations from across the food industry – including wholesalers – to keep food moving and minimise food waste. We are in frequent contact with representatives from across the food supply chain to respond to the impacts of the coronavirus.
An example of this is the work the government has been doing with leading wholesalers to deliver thousands of food parcels to vulnerable people who cannot leave their homes because severe health conditions leave them most vulnerable to the virus. The first 2,000 food parcels have already been delivered this weekend and more parcels are expected to go out next week from wholesalers across the country, bringing the first set of deliveries to more than 50,000.
We have also relaxed Competition Laws so retailers can work together to keep shops open and stocked, share data on stock levels, pool staff to meet demand, or share distribution depots and delivery vans.
A Defra spokesperson said:
“We are working closely with the food industry across the supply chain to try to keep food moving and minimise food waste.
"This includes working with the groceries industry, local government, local resilience and emergency partners to ensure essential items from across the food sector are delivered as soon as possible to the most vulnerable."
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