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Waitrose, a supermarket company, has announced initiatives it has launched to support its most vulnerable suppliers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The supermarket not only supports British producers and farmers, but also helps the most vulnerable communities in developing countries who supply food and other products through the Waitrose Foundation. Waitrose plans the following:

Waitrose will fund its most vulnerable global farming communities by releasing £ 200,000 from the Waitrose Foundation Global Fund to support its overseas farming communities in response to the COVID 19 crisis, focusing on the most vulnerable countries and Communities located in the supermarkets. Food supply chain.

Among other things, this will help provide the much-needed communication about social distancing advice and provide sanitation kits and grocery packages for the communities that grow, pick, and pack products sold in Waitrose stores. This is said to help just over 100,000 workers.

By becoming a member of the Prompt Payment Code, Waitrose has already committed to paying all of the smallest suppliers within seven days. In addition, Waitrose supports the weakest in its supply chain by speeding up payments during this critical time.

Waitrose also continues its commitment to British farmers, with all its fresh and frozen beef, chicken, pork, eggs and milk 100% UK sourced. The company continues to pay fair prices, works hand in hand with its farmers and supports the sale of UK products, including key category promotions.

Waitrose's experienced purchasing teams work daily with the many family-run businesses that supply their businesses with local products to ensure that the most vulnerable suppliers are involved in key decision-making processes and continue to have a platform for selling their products.

While its first priority is to feed the nation, Waitrose is pulling more horticultural products than ever before to provide the much-needed lifeline to the UK nurseries they supply. Waitrose is sticking to its commitments and is stockpiling certain categories to help companies that may not have been able to get to market during the government-mandated ban.

The company has also partnered with other retailers to fund a number of webinars with global food suppliers. The webinars include lectures from various UK food retail experts that train suppliers around the world – especially those who were several weeks behind the COVID 19 curve in the UK – to provide information and intelligence on issues such as social distance, Vacation and transportation & accommodation.

In addition, members of the Waitrose team work actively with multiple working groups, including retailers and major agricultural organizations like that NFU and other interest groups. The company continues to provide strategic and financial support to key agricultural charities, including Addington Fund, Farming Community Network (FCN), Lining Help, royal Agricultural Benevolent institution (R.A.B.I.), and RSABI, supported by The Prince & # 39; s Countryside Fund.

Rupert Thomas, Director Food & Grocery at Waitrose, commented: “The John Lewis Partnership is based on the principle that we have responsibility towards others and that we have to treat people fairly, which also applies to our partners, customers, suppliers and the communities extends with which we trade, including those based outside the UK.

“This pandemic poses the greatest humanitarian and economic threat to our generation. Although we face many difficult decisions, we as a collective industry must continue to look for ways to help protect people and their livelihoods in this unprecedented time. The measures we have taken are only the beginning and we will continue to do everything we can to support our suppliers and the people who are part of them, especially those who are most at risk. "