In an open letter to 350,000 foodservice outlets, the FWD and SWA have asked them to use Government funding to settle outstanding invoices and help them keep vital supply chains open.
The letter says that although some of them are facing huge reductions in turnover since the closure of the hospitality sector, they are maintaining distribution networks to hospitals, care homes, critical workplaces and local stores, as well as takeaways and home delivery customers. They ask that catering businesses help by paying for stock they purchased before the lockdown.
Read more: Foodservice members the main concern for FWD
“The majority of your businesses are temporarily closed but when the time comes to re-open we will be there, along with our supplier partners, to work alongside you and help reignite our economy,” the letter reads.
Those businesses told by Government to close their doors are receiving up to £25k in support from local authorities via the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund, with payments beginning to be made this week.
It continues: “We’re asking you to allocate some of that assistance you receive to paying your bills for the stock we’ve already delivered to you. The majority of our businesses are regional and independent, and whatever size they are, all have relationships with you which go far beyond delivery. If wholesalers can’t purchase new stock, you will lose more than that relationship – you will lose the flexibility, the knowledge of your businesses, and the diversity in your supply options that wholesalers offer.
Read more: Support package not working for wholesale sector, says FWD
