NEWS SPECIAL
COVID-19 UPDATE FOR ALL THE LATEST CORONAVIRUS NEWS, HEAD TO WWW.SLRMAG.CO.UK/CATEGORY/NEWS/
MSPS HAIL ‘UNSUNG HEROES’ IN RETAIL
100 FORECOURTS CLOSED The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) has estimated that around 100 UK filling stations have already closed because of coronavirus. Reports from members show fuel sales are down by up to 85% although sites with full convenience stores are reporting growth of up to 50%.
UNITAS DONATION
LABOUR MSP ANAS SARWAR HAS LODGED A PARLIAMENTARY MOTION HIGHLIGHTING THE OUTSTANDING EFFORT LOCAL RETAILERS HAVE MADE IN SUPPORTING VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS.
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Members of Unitas Wholesale teamed up with Mondelez to donate and distribute more than 78,000 Easter eggs to foodbanks, care homes, hospitals, frontline NHS and emergency workers across the UK over the Easter weekend.
SPAR SANDWICHES Spar Scotland wholesaler
SPs have praised the vital ‘frontline’ role of Scotland’s 44,000 convenience store staff in supporting communities through the COVID-19 crisis. Senior Scottish Labour MSP Anas Sarwar has lodged a Parliamentary Motion which highlights the outstanding effort convenience stores have made in supporting vulnerable customers. The Motion has been endorsed by MSPs from across the political spectrum at Holyrood. The Glasgow MSP said: “Shopkeepers in Scotland’s independent convenience stores are the unsung heroes of the coronavirus
HAILING HEROES: Anas Sarwar MSP.
pandemic. They have worked tirelessly to ensure that vulnerable people are receiving essential groceries and other products, particularly in rural locations where they are often the only shopping option. Shopkeepers in independent stores are at the heart of their communities and are using their local knowledge to make sure vulnerable people are being looked after. When we applaud the key workers who are fighting the coronavirus on the frontline, let’s not forget the shopkeepers.”
CJ Lang & Son has donated 8,000 sandwiches to a number of good causes including local charity Dundee Bairns and foodbank Gate Church. Dundee Bairns has provided over 180,000 meals to meet some of the greatest levels of need in some of the areas of highest multiple deprivation in Scotland.
8 / SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 1 / WEDNESDAY 22ND APRIL 2020
£300M CAMELOT COMMUNITY FUND National Lottery operator Camelot has created a £300m fund to support communities across the UK through the coronavirus pandemic. The money will be made available to support the most vulnerable in communities. Money will be distributed to charities
and local voluntary organisations over the next few months to help support communities through the crisis from helping support food banks, to causes that combat loneliness and isolation, support for the elderly and projects that support health in the community.
