We have substantially increased our online capacity and created thousands more weekly delivery slots to cope with the increase in demand. In addition, we have created a new Doorstep Delivery service, which is designed for vulnerable and older people and offers next day home delivery. We are mindful that not everyone is familiar with online technology and so we have set up a call centre that people can phone and place an order from a list of essential items. These items will be delivered the next day by the local Morrisons store and customers can pay by contactless payment on the doorstep to minimise contact. There is no delivery charge.
We have heard from many customers using this service that having a chat with someone is sometimes as important as the order they are placing and we are happy we can bring some cheer to their day. Please do advise your constituents who need this service that orders can be placed between 0800 - 1700, Monday - Saturday, by calling 0345 611 6111 and selecting option 5. For more information please visit https://my.morrisons.com/doorstep-deliveries/.
In addition, we are working closely with the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments to support the clinically vulnerable shielded group who are at the greatest risk from Covid-19. We are being sent by the UK and devolved governments the names of individuals in this category and are cross-checking them against our customer database. Where there are matches we offer these customers priority online delivery and inform them about our Doorstep Delivery service.
We have also created a range of different food boxes to meet the needs of customers who are self-isolating. These boxes can be ordered online through https://www.morrisons.com/food-boxes/ and are delivered by courier, usually the next day. Whether customers are looking for store cupboard essentials, ready prepared dishes or fresh food to create favourite meals, we have a number of different boxes to choose from.
Finally, we know that Covid-19 has left more people in need of food donations. In response, we are sending dedicated pallets of food to our stores every week to be donated to local food banks. Some of this food, including bread and eggs, is coming from our own manufacturing sites which we are running for an extra hour each day as part of this initiative. By July this will amount to £10m of food which we hope will go some way to meeting the needs of our local communities at this difficult time.
