Due to the coronavirus outbreak, food shopping has become a major worry for many, but there are plenty of local businesses who are here to help. Here’s a list of just some of them, along with the special services they’re offering at the minute:
The Linton Kitchen
The Linton Kitchen have decided to offer a doorstep drop delivery service for those who are self-isolating. This is what they had to say over on their Instagram: “if you’re desperate for cake and coffee and are isolated, we’re happy to take phone orders and leave phone parcels on Linton doorsteps whenever possible – just call us on 01223894949. If we can do anything better, please let us know. We really appreciate your continued support of our small, independent business.”
Stir Bakery
Stir Bakery is going above and beyond to help people out in these difficult times.”We are going to mobilise in a big way to serve the community and get food out to vulnerable people,” they said. “This will include opening the bakery earlier (7.30am-8am) for vulnerable shoppers, delivering bread and boxes of supplies citywide, and using our delivery van for community assistance. People can put us in touch with a vulnerable or isolated person by sending us their details via email or phone, and we will give them a call. Whatever happens, Stir Bakery will never close. We will to continue to support the community with delivery boxes including bread, milk, coffee, tray bakes and other essentials.”
Shelford Deli
Shelford Deli is taking orders over the phone and bagging up, offering quick take-away collection for those who are social distancing. They posted this statement on their social media: “our brilliant team will be open and welcoming to all those who need their caffeine fix, lunch, shopping or artisan pizza to take-away or eat-in… both inside and outside as you prefer. Our stringent hygiene is already 5-star and we have given our team clear guidance on all new protocol as advised. We have increased our already high standards of hygiene to incorporate regular disinfection of door handles and touch-spots. We are reviewing our business on a day-to-day basis to help design what ‘flatten the curve’ might look like for us, and we will keep you posted this week, but in the meantime, we look forward to seeing you even if just for a quick take-out. Current menus are available on our website and Facebook page, and everything is available for pre-packed order including any shop items on 01223 846129. Please do your bit and think about your neighbours and see if they’ll need anything too… and continue to encourage kindness, safety, empathy and calm in these uncertain times.”
Malloy’s Craft Butchery
With many people worried about how fast the coronavirus is spreading, shopping locally could be your best option to ensure your food takes as direct a route as possible to your plate. This is what craft butchery Malloy’s had to say on their social media: “in this difficult time, supporting local businesses will not only help them survive, it will also give you a chance to know where your food is coming from and the amounts of hands touch your products! We’re doing everything we can to cut down our supply chain to make sure the product you receive hasn’t been touched by more that 2/3 people from farm to plate!”
Image credit: @elisha.eats
Guerrilla Kitchen
Popular food truck Guerilla Kitchen are doing their bit to help the Cambridge community. This is what they had to say: “we are launching bao kits, but we’re speeding up the launch so people can get the kits delivered and dropped off at their doors if self-isolating (central Cambridge drop offs only at the moment).”
Cambridge Organic Food Company
The Cambridge Organic Food Company is introducing a few minor changes to their service in response to the coronavirus: “as a food delivery service, we hope to be able to continue to bring you fresh, organic produce, even if some shops are forced to close. To do that, we need to try to keep most of our staff free from infection, and to make sure that we don’t do anything to spread the disease to our members. The main change we are going to make is to stop knocking on your door. We’ll leave your veg box in the place you’ve designated, without attempting to knock or ring your door bell. While we value the direct contact we usually have with members who are at home, the majority of our members are usually out when we deliver, so for them there won’t be any change. We are instituting a set of enhanced hygiene rules for our employees, with clear instructions when to self-isolate to prevent the virus spreading to other colleagues. We’d like to reinforce the importance of good hygiene practices in your own kitchens and remind you to wash all produce before eating.”
Al:Amin
Selling ingredients from all over the world that come from reputable and halal sources, Al:Amin Stores are offering a special delivery service. This is what they posted on their Facebook page: “Al:Amin has always been supportive of its local and wider community. In this time of crisis please be advised Al:Amin will deliver to the aged and vulnerable members of our community.”
Radmore Farm Shop
Owner of Radmore Farm Shop, Ben Aveling, says “we are working hard to make sure that all our customers can still access all their food and household refill items. We are offering our online delivery service via our website where customers can buy all their items online, but also have made it so customers are welcome to just contact us through any media they choose, with lists of what they need and we can walk or cycle it to them if it’s local. We have a lot of customers who use us every day as we are open seven days a week, like an extension to their store cupboard, and we fully intend on doing what we can to help them.”
Burwash Larder
Burwash Larder is also getting in on the action, offering special services so that their customers can still get their hands on some deli delights. “We will continue to open normal hours until further notice. We are able to offer call and collect from our doorstep, or local delivery for those in need for the time being. Contact us on 01223 264600 for more information.”
Scotsdales
Scotsdales Garden Centre is offering to deliver to many of their customers in the local area. “We understand how Covid-19 is affecting those around us in the community and therefore Scotdales has decided to offer free delivery to a number of local addresses. Please contact your closest branch for further information – Horningsea 01223 860320, Fordham 01638 720455, Great Shelford 01223 842777.”
Jack’s Gelato
You will still be able to get all you favourite ice creams and sorbets from Jack’s Gelato, as they are offering window-service to their customers. They had this to say on their Instagram: “we are are here if you need us. We moved to window only service earlier this week, no contact (no cash, no touch, no reusables, distance queuing) and have implemented super regular cleaning and disinfecting.”
Taj Tandoori
Taj Tandoori is keen to offer help to the most vulnerable members of the community. “Here at Taj Tandoori, we want to do our bit to help our community and especially the most in need at this difficult time. We are offering a free meal every day to 5 elderly members of our community. This will be composed of a poppadum, starter, curry and rice or bread. To be eligible you must be aged 70 or over, call the restaurant and place the order over the phone, and place your order between 5.30pm & 6.30pm. To ensure we are fair to everyone it will be on a first-come-first-served basis. We ask you to arrange a relative to come and collect the order, but if this is not possible then we will deliver it to you.”
You can find the latest coronavirus information here:
Coronavirus in Cambridge: Cancellations, Key Facts, Need-to-Knows
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