How Borough Market has returned to its roots to feed Londoners – and frontline workers

It’s a surreal experience walking under the shady arches of Borough Market. Avenues usually bustling with visitors sampling truffle oils, nibbling cheese and gawking at stalls piled high with pillowy doughnuts are quiet; gone is the sense of having endless time to browse, taste and soak up the atmosphere of one of the country’s most famous food markets.

Borough Market has remained open throughout the lockdown, though in a much reduced capacity. But despite the rows of shuttered stalls, closed restaurants and strict social distancing measures, its unwavering community spirit remains as tangible as ever – and in fact, the crisis has offered a chance for the market to return to its original purpose: providing quality food to the people of London, both through sales in the market and through a new charity initiative helping to feed staff in the hospitals close to its Southwark location on the Thames.

Darren Henaghan, Borough’s managing director, has remained at the helm, steering the direction of the market since the outbreak first hit the UK. “It all happened very quickly. We have five or six Italian traders who kept us informed about what was happening over there, but then suddenly, it was here,” he recalls. “First, we removed the big tables from our Borough Kitchen area, and then the little ones, and then all of them. It felt like sand slipping away from under our feet.”

Over the course of the next few weeks, all street food stalls, restaurants, bars and non-essential stalls ceased to trade, leaving behind a small cohort of butchers, bakers and grocers. Footfall has ­decreased by 88 per cent, and the time people spend on site has reduced from 96 minutes on average to just 28 minutes. “Where we once encouraged ­people to come and have a mooch, perhaps a drink and a couple of snacks, we ask people now to come, grab their things and leave. You can’t even buy a cup of coffee now, to discourage people from congregating,” says Henaghan.

Sales have also seemingly travelled back in time to match the market’s new “old” role within the community. “Red meat is up, as is veg,” adds Henaghan. “English hard cheese is down, surprisingly, but soft cheeses are doing well. Bulk things have also, unsurprisingly, been selling very well; we have a fabulous supplier of nuts who has been ­doing well under the circumstances. People are reverting to what they know; roast beef on a Sunday, minestrone soups and stews during the week. Wartime rhetoric certainly comes to mind.”

Matt Jones, the founder of Bread Ahead bakery and baking school which has its headquarters in Borough as well as a stall in the market (home to those cult doughnuts, as well as all manner of loaves), admits: “It’s like stepping back in time. There are no tourists, just Londoners coming down with their carrier bags, stocking up on daily groceries and leaving. We’ve gone from being a destination – a place to go for a nice day out – to somewhere people rely on for their dinner.”

And this isn’t all the market has been up to. Traders have been working to supply thousands of bags of fruit and vegetables to key workers in surrounding hospitals, providing a vital lifeline for those working long hours. #feedthefrontline, the campaign that ­connects fresh produce markets with hospitals, has now extended to Leeds and Bradford, with the involvement of St James’s Wholesale Market in Bradford, and has provided over 30,000 bags of fresh fruit and vegetables to key workers.

“We were mobilised when we received a generous private donation, and wanted to use it to show our appreciation for the doctors, nurses, social workers, porters and binmen alike. Giving a bag of fruit and veg with a little recipe card won’t change the way this pandemic is going, but it’s one less thing for those workers to worry about at the end of the day”, says Henaghan.

Turnips, the grocer at the forefront of the operation, usually supplies Michelin-starred restaurants but now packs bags full of onions, potatoes and carrots to deliver to Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital, Whittington Trust, and South London and Maudsley – like many other fruit and veg suppliers around the country now supporting charity causes with surplus produce.

“Because we’ve got a diverse cultural heritage here, the same goes for the range of causes we cater for,” adds Henaghan. “One trader is cooking for Iraqi refugees, another making meals for Centrepoint, one making care packages to deliver to homes, and one making pasta for another charity initiative.”

What lies ahead for the market as lockdown eases? “It’s not going to be an easy ride,” he admits. “It’s not just about when we’ll be allowed to open fully – it’s about when our customers feel comfortable coming back to a restaurant setting, and we have no way of telling how long that will take.

“We will continue to be what we are at our core – a grocery market providing food to locals. Our customers have been hugely understanding, and we know they’ll be with us throughout the process,” he says. “We’re going to keep going, and, very slowly, start building ourselves back up. And who knows – maybe soon we’ll allow people to have a cup of coffee with their shop!”

Life at the market

Charlie Foster, market trader

Director of Turnips

“It was terrifying at the start; every arm of our business dried up overnight. All we had left was the stall. But gradually, over time, people have been trickling back into the market. All of the traders have the same feeling – that we’re back to being what used to be; not a tourist hotspot or a foodie destination, but a genuine necessity selling fruit, veg, meat, fish and bread, and there’s something wonderful about that.

In the last 15 years we’ve sold specialist products to cater for tourists. But now, people are coming here to buy their meals. Carrot, onion and cabbage sales have gone up; we’ve been selling bags of potatoes for the first time in 10 years.

I can’t overplay how important the Feed the Frontline campaign has been for us. At the start of the lockdown, we were convinced we would have to close down. But then we got a phone call from the organisers of the initiative, and suddenly we had a purpose. It was the morale booster we all needed.

We called back our staff to help pack bags of fruit and veg to hand out to NHS staff and other key workers, and before we knew it we were packing 6,000 bags a week. To this day, we’ve delivered roughly 27,000 bags of fruit and veg. It’s back-breaking work, but the atmosphere here is unbelievable.

The nicest thing to come from all this is the feedback. We’ve had nurses contacting us via Instagram and families who have received home deliveries all saying what a lifeline it’s been for them. Out of everything, it’s been a real point to hang our hat on.

We don’t know what life at the market will be like when lockdown measures are reduced. Coming out of this feels as scary as going into it. We just hope that those who have come to us during this time will remember us. We’re grateful, we’re immensely proud of what’s been done, and we’re hopeful.”

Simone Matei, recipient of #feedthefrontline donations

Senior switchboard operator at Whittington Trust

“I’ve worked in all sorts of different departments in the hospital, but for the last 12 years I’ve been a senior switchboard operator, talking to doctors and patients on a daily basis – no one knows we exist as we work behind the scenes, but it’s the real hub of the hospital.

It’s shift work so my hours change all the time. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind since the virus broke out – no one knew what was going on, and when part of your job is pacifying worried patients, things can get tricky. It’s quieter now, but a few weeks ago it was really quite hectic.

My first thought when the virus broke out was how to make time for buying myself food. I’m a real advocate of healthy eating and my shift pattern means I need to be well prepared. I batch cook and always know what’s in my fridge, so I had nightmares of leaving the hospital at 10pm after the shops had shut. Our staff canteen closed soon after the virus broke out, meaning one less place to get food from.

But the response from the community has been mind-blowing. Feed the Frontline contacted us soon after lockdown, and started delivering these bags of wonderful fresh produce. I thought the first delivery was a one-off, but to this day we get regular deliveries of seasonal, organic produce. I love making soups and fresh juices so I’ve been doing lots of that – nothing goes to waste! It’s given me the energy to carry out my job to my best ability, without having to worry about food.

It’s given everyone in the hospital so much hope; it feels like everyone really does care. So many families, restaurants and small businesses have been donating meals, but it’s the Turnips bags I get excited for. They’ve been so well organised and distributed. It’s given me hope that there’s light at the end of the tunnel, even if it’s a little way off.”

Sally Peck, regular customer

“I live just over a mile from Borough Market, which I’ve visited every week for the past 15 years to do the bulk of my food shopping. My husband and I started going as a way to exercise our bouncy labrador and stock up on excellent meat, fish and seasonal produce. A few years later, it was a way to get out of the house with our first baby, who woke at five each morning; happily, so did some of our favourite market stall owners.

It pays to go early. By about 10am on a Saturday in normal times, the market starts filling with aimless tourists. This puzzles me: why would you come to London to gawp at a stack of aubergines?

That side of things has changed under lockdown, of course: there are no tourists clogging the market’s thoroughfares. But it still pays to go early: there’s a one-in-one-out rule by midday on busy days (usually Fridays and Saturdays), which is efficiently and cheerfully enforced by the masked market staff.

In the days right after lockdown, there was a stunned air in the market, which reminded us of the days after the 2017 terrorist attack. This time, the stall workers we’ve known for years were mourning the absence of the staff at neighbouring restaurants, all of whom lost their jobs overnight, and wondering whether all of their business would dry up. Many who had made much of their money from the restaurant trade – like Neal’s Yard Dairy or Paul Wheeler – saw that money dry up, but they’ve pivoted with grace to home delivery. Two months into lockdown, the atmosphere now feels more hopeful: it remains a more comfortable and spacious place to shop than supermarkets.

One of the silver linings of life at home has been the chance to share three meals a day with my family. From the perfect cime di rapa last month to excellent scallops from Shellseekers, we’ve found all of the ingredients that allow us to travel the world under lockdown, via our plates. Eating well is our greatest pleasure at the moment.

But that’s not really why I go to the market. I go for the chat and the community. As we move into the coming stages of restrictions, I hope that the market thrives, and that people who have worked so hard under lockdown remain safe and healthy.”

To donate, go to feedthefrontline.uk

Four more wholesalers working to feed frontline workers

• Premier Fruits, the country’s largest independent wholesaler of fruit and vegetables, has been delivering crates of fruit and vegetables to hospitals around the country, as well as supplying fresh produce to help the Feed the NHS campaign.
• Pale Green Dot, a producer that normally supplies to restaurants around the UK, has shifted to supplying produce to people’s homes, and has been donating surplus produce to charity Hospitality for Heroes, getting chefs around the country to cook for NHS staff.
• Mustard Foods, which normally provides meals for 30 UK restaurant chains, is providing ready meals to St George’s Hospital in Tooting and Wimbledon fire station.
• County Supplies, a New Covent Garden Market supplier to restaurants, pubs and schools, has supplied fruit and vegetable boxes to NHS staff, as well as partnering with numerous catering companies to produce ready meals for those in need.