Shoppers have shared images of empty shelves in supermarkets across the country as customer have warned of distribution issues amid staff shortages due to people quarantining in what is being dubbed the ‘pingdemic’.
A record 1.3million Covid self-isolation alerts were sent out across England last week, according to official NHS statistics, with supermarkets urging Britons not to panic buy toilet roll, pasta, bottled water and wine with shelves empty across the country and ministers facing calls to bring in the Army to shore up the supply of food.
While the government has unveiled get-outs from the self-isolation rules designed to stop essential supply chains collapsing, with Environment Secretary George Eustice announcing staff at around 500 sites including supermarket depots will no longer need to quarantine if they come into contact with a positive Covid case.
But many shelves are still empty with shoppers struggling to get their hands on fresh fruit, vegetables and other essentials.
So what are the other options? If you’ve been pinged and can’t get to the shops or you’re struggling to find goods and your nearest grocer, worry not. Here, FEMAIL reveals the alternative ways to get groceries direct to your door.
Empty shelves in Adsa, Cardiff as more and more supermarket staff and delivery drives are forced to self isolate
DELIVEROO
Delivery time: An hour or less
Deliveroo has national UK coverage with on-demand delivery partnerships from Co-op, Aldi, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Majestic Wine, Farmdrop, Daylesford Organic, Wholefoods, as well as dozens of local convenience stores and garages.
The food is delivered from a store local to the user, so time varies depending on how close you live to the shop.
UBEREATS
Delivery time: An hour or less
UberEats has a dedicated ‘essentials’ tab with Sainsburys and Nisa Local among the shops signed up.
There are more than 600 convenience stores signed up to the app nationwide, with items including eggs, milk and meat available.
UberEats has a dedicated ‘essentials’ tab with Sainsburys and Nisa Local among the shops signed up. There are more than 600 convenience stores signed up to the app nationwide, with items including eggs, milk and meat available.
BOTHER
Wait time: Next day delivery
Bother, a delivery service for non-perishable household items, offers free next day delivery for shops more than £40, but there is no minimum spend.
During the first wave of COVID-19, Bother expedited its planned launch to offer essential supplies to key workers and the NHS in an effort to relieve pressure where it was needed most, now it’s launched nationwide.
Items include toilet roll, laundry detergent, oils, tinned food, dry goods. pasta, cereal, cooking sauces, baking ingredients and hundreds more.
Bother, a new delivery service for non-perishable household items, offers free next day delivery for shops more than £40, but there is no minimum spent.
SAINSBURY’S CHOP CHOP
Delivery time: An hour or less
Sainsbury’s Chop Chop lets shoppers buy 20 items which will be delivered in 60 minutes or less in selected areas of Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Reading and Sheffield.
Options include eggs, fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, alcohol and over the counter medicine. Delivery is £4.99.
As well as being available on Deliveroo and UberEats, Sainsbury’s has it’s own app – Chop Chop – which lets shoppers buy 20 items which will be delivered in 60 minutes or less in selected areas of Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Reading and Sheffield
BEELIVERY
Delivery time: 15 minutes to an hour
Delivering across the country in less than an hour with a minimum spend of £12 using local, crowd-sourced drivers, Beelivery offers snacks, oven pizzas, milk and dairy – as well as health items, tobacco and baby items.
TESCO WHOOSH!
Delivery time: An hour or less
Tesco’s superfast home delivery service is currently near 12 stores in London, Bristol and Wolverhampton with plans to expand soon.
There’s a £5 delivery fee with an additional £2 for baskets under £15
It offers a choice of 1,700 of Tesco’s most popular items.
ZAPP
Delivery time: Within 20 minutes
This app offers an easy to use grid of more than 1,000 curated offerings heavy on snacks, ice cream and alcohol, the fee is £1.99 but it’s free on orders over £30.
It’s currently available in London and Manchester.
WEEZY
Delivery time: 15 minutes
Weezy calls itself the ’15-minute supermarket’, and appears to be positioning itself as the Waitrose of the super-speedy delivery services, saying it works with ‘renowned wholesalers’ and sources its fruit daily from New Covent Garden Market.
It has a delivery fee of £2.95 and is available in parts of London, Bristol, Brighton, Hove, Salford and Manchester.
VEGETARIAN EXPRESS
Delivery time: Next day
Vegetarian Express, the UK’s premier specialist vegan and vegetarian food supplier to chefs, has launched a new website, Vegex – featuring a range of over 700 chef-quality plant-based proteins, world ingredients, and store cupboard staples, available for delivery to households.
Every product has been tried and tested in professional kitchens, and much of the professional range is unavailable to buy in retail stores – bringing restaurant quality food to homes.
AMAZON FRESH
Delivery time: Less than 24 hours
Shopping from Amazon Fresh and Morrisons is available for Prime members in selected postcodes across London and the south east with delivery slots sometimes less than an hour away but available to book up to 72 hours in advance.
Items include eggs, milks and fresh goods as well as meats, seafood, dairy, frozen items, and household essentials.
Shopping from Amazon Fresh and Morrisons is available for Prime members in selected postcodes across London and the south east with delivery slots sometimes less than an hour away but available to book up to 24 hours in advance.
WAITROSE RAPID
Delivery time: Two hours or less
Waitrose Rapid enables shoppers to have up to 25 grocery items delivered within two hours or less or on the same day, and is currently available in London, Bath and Hove.
Items available include fresh fruit and berries, fresh herbs, milks, eggs and dairy as well as pharmacy and toiletries options and frozen food and ready meals.
Waitrose Rapid enables shoppers to have up to 25 grocery items delivered within two hours or less or on the same day, and is currently available in London, Bath and Hove. Items available include fresh fruit and berries, fresh herbs, milks, eggs and dairy as well as pharmacy and toiletries options and frozen food and ready meals.
HELLO ORIENTAL
Delivery time: Next day
Hello Oriental delivers nationwide with next day delivery, so you can treat your household to a dim sum feast, or host a sake tasting for your loved ones at home.
Customers can also shop for store cupboard essentials including condiments, seasonings, sauces, rice and noodles, as well as snacks, drinks, dim sum & dumplings, and a huge selection of fresh vegetables including more exotic ones as Thai aubergines, white radish and pandan leaves.
CASACOSTA
Delivery time: Next day
Italian food delivery service Casacosta sells premium Italian goods as well as meat fish, pasta, bread and alcohol, as well as some health and wellbeing products.
The shop is based in Fulham, but they have next day delivery across London, with plans to go nationwide soon.
DELICARIO
Delivery time: Next day
Delicario is a niche online delicatessen for fine artisan food and wine, working with small-scale sustainable producers of authentic regional European delicacies with an ‘international farm to table approach’.
They offer next day deliver on dozens of goods, including pasta, oil, rice, meat, champagne and tea.
Source: Food Recipes and News
