
We are now in the thirteenth week of the lockdown and the impact of this for our members who service the Hospitality and Foodservice markets cannot be overstated. For many the current uncertainty about when and how their markets will reopen.
We have seen Government support for farming and the Hospitality and Foodservice sectors to help them cope with the crisis, however support for the vast number of suppliers into this sector has not been to the same level. Each time we talked to Government they pointed us to the loan support schemes.
In contact with members it was clear that these schemes, although welcome did not address the situation completely. I therefore started to discuss this issue with other Trade bodies and found they too felt the same. I was then asked to lead a small group to create a paper highlighting the issue and finding solutions we could propose that helped those companies caught in this Squeezed Middle.
So today we launch this paper with the FDF, BFFF and The British Coffee Association supported by another 21 trade bodies. It is targeted at Government and seeks to get more liquidity into our members caught in an almost impossible situation.
We would ask all members to ensure this paper on the Squeezed Middle is sent to their local MP, we need to ensure our message gets wide exposure.