Allbirds
The sustainable footwear retailer Allbirds is donating 2000 pairs of its wool running shoes to front line NHS staff for the next 24 hours.
“It’s a small way of saying thank you and providing comfort for the long hours you’re putting in to keep us safe and healthy,” the footwear retailer said.
Hotel chocolate
Hotel Chocolat is offering every NHS worker a 50 per cent discount on its products in store, as a “thank you”.
“Our locations are so close to so many major hospitals, it made sense for us to do something”, Hotel Chocolat chief executive Angus Thirlwell said.
The chocolate retailer follows similar moves from Pret A Manger, McDonald’s and hotel chains, which are offering discounts, free drinks and accommodation for key health workers.
Greggs
Greggs is offering free hot drinks to all health, social and emergency service workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Greggs has a long-standing history of supporting the communities that we serve, and we’ll continue to help the Greggs Foundation donate unsold food to good causes and deliver the programmes that support those in need,” the bakery chain said.
Marks & Spencer
For the first time, Marks & Spencer will deliver groceries via Deliveroo in order to reach families in self-isolation.
Deliveroo will now deliver essential items from 120 M&S franchise stores across key UK cities including Cambridge, Reading, Brighton, Nottingham, Manchester, Leeds and London within the next two weeks.
Items like pasta, milk, bread, tinned goods, ready meals and household items will be available to purchase from M&S petrol service stores with no delivery charge.
Simba
Simba is offering all NHS and private healthcare workers a 50 per cent discount on their Simba Hybrid® mattress until Tuesday 30 June to help the nation’s heroes get the rest they deserve.
“Sleep is the absolute foundation for physical and mental health and recovery, making it very important for those working on the front line to get the best quality sleep they can.” Simba chief executive Steve Reid said.
Tesco
Tesco is the latest to introduce new social distancing measures across stores.
Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis said there would now be floor markings in car parks to maintain safe distances when queuing, the number of shoppers in a store will be restricted, and extra hand santisier and cleaning products for trolleys will be available.
He added that new floor markings will be added to checkout areas, protective screens introduced on checkouts, and one-way aisles.
Waitrose
The John Lewis Partnership announced that its Waitrose shops will set aside a proportion of hard-to-find items exclusively for NHS staff.
The grocer said it will set a side batches of essential products from every delivery exclusively for NHS staff, on production of an NHS card.
John Lewis will also be donating items such as pillows, phone chargers, eye masks and hand cream, as well as 50,000 Easter treats, to hospitals on the frontline of the pandemic.
Morrisons
Morrisons introduced a dedicated shopping hour for NHS workers on the front line of the coronavirus pandemic.
The new hour will be 7am-8am, every day except Sunday and a Morrisons staff member will be at the door of each store to let staff with an NHS badge in.
Morrisons has also confirmed it will install checkout screens in stores to protect staff.
Asda
Asda also created a dedicated shopping hour for NHS workers, while also donating £5 million to charities and giving shop and distribution workers bonus pay.
Asda said its donation will go to charity partners FareShare and the Trussell Trust to help the country’s most vulnerable people through Covid-19 pandemic.
Asda and M&S have also introduced new in-store initiatives including limiting the number of customers allowed to enter stores at any one time and markers on the floor to ensure social distancing measures.
The UK’s biggest supermarkets are have been announcing measures to assist the elderly and vulnerable, and NHS health workers on the frontline, on what seems like an hourly basis.
In addition to those listed above, click on the link at the end of this paragraph for everything else we know so far when it comes to grocers taking actions to steer people away from stockpiling and to look after their staff: What are the UK’s grocers doing to help customers & staff?
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