A year ago Elizabeth Gray was working 15-hour days desperately trying to keep the shelves of Milton Haugh Farm Shop in Angus stocked.
Making pies and cakes, dropping off another order, completing countless trips to the fruit and veg market…
What kept her going through another late night of not seeing her children? Knowing the local community was relying on her to help get them through tough times.
A year on, Elizabeth says Milton Haugh in Carmyllie is now facing its own “tough time”.
Milton Haugh Farm Shop plea for help
Customers have “vanished” and freshly made cakes and pies have had to go in the bin.
Elizabeth has issued a desperate plea for customers to return and support the 20-year-old family business.
“We do have some regulars who come into the shop and I can’t thank them enough,” she said.
“It’s the folk who came to us and were clearing the shelves and grabbing everything they possibly could. They’ve stopped coming to see us.
“I genuinely feel used and abused.
“Because supermarkets are a bit quieter, other businesses are open… we’ve just been deserted.
“Since things have started to ease, we feel we have been discarded and quite frankly it hurts.”
‘I didn’t see my kids for weeks’
Elizabeth, who has 15 full and part-time staff, said she used local butchers and farmers for supplies.
She said her suppliers had been struggling since lockdown eased.
Her coffee shop had an “initial buzz” when it was able to reopen but is now also quiet.
She said the current plight was particularly disheartening when she remembers the sacrifices made last year.
“I was working 15-hour days making pies and doing everything I possibly could to keep food on the shelves as people weren’t going to the supermarkets,” she said.
“I didn’t see my kids for weeks.
“We also adapted the business for delivery and contactless pick-up.
“During lockdown we were doing three trips to the veg market a week – two tonnes coming up on lorries at a time.
“We’re now down to one visit a week to the market – that’s the difference in output through the shop.
“We did everything we could to help people and it’s like our customers have just vanished.”
Customers needed to protect Angus jobs
In the run up to Christmas, Elizabeth saw a huge reduction in demand for turkeys due to fewer family gatherings.
She said she wanted to issue a strong ‘support local’ message to help not just Milton Haugh Farm Shop but other businesses.
“Covid has hammered so many businesses and put people out of jobs,” she added.
“We don’t want that situation here and have to make people redundant.
“Like every local producer, we put our heart and soul into it.
“I want people to realise that it’s going to be a tough time for everyone getting back to normality but local businesses need custom now more than ever.”