Danny's Days - 31st October 2022

This week we welcome the start of another month and the preparations for Christmas really get underway. Some of you may have heard on the news stories about poultry farmers being affected by Avian Influenza, also called bird flu. You will be glad to hear our turkey farmers and geese farmers are so far ok for Christmas. However this is a huge issue to the uk food industry.

It has meant Ducks in particular will be really hard to source (as they are at the moment). This is heartbreaking for farmers. One farmer phoned me late in the evening recently, literally holding back tears as he explained he had just lost all his turkeys and geese for Christmas.

This is not only financially crippling for a small family business for this year, but also puts their whole future livelihood in jeopardy.

As small independent businesses dealing with current financial difficulties, the food sector is once again hit with a crisis. Let’s hope our UK farmers make it through this winter as well as possible.

I’m sorry if some of this sounds a bit gloomy but I think it is important I filter through the realities occurring as they happen.

On a less down note, I had a nice surprise on Friday morning. We had donated some food for a charity trip one of our customers had organised. CEO Deborah Evans-Stickland of Outside In Pathways has done an amazing job championing this charity that "creates programmes for adults, families and children with disabilities to access the culture and heritage displayed in London's museums, galleries and palaces."

Seeing the videos of the children having fun and reading their messages and drawings is heart warming and inspirational.

The very best wishes,
Danny Lidgate