West Norfolk business selling baked goods and fresh foods now offering contactless collections

Like many others in the borough, a business in West Norfolk, selling baked goods and fresh foods, has diversified during the coronavirus crisis and is now offering contactless collections.

Bircham Windmill at Great Bircham is taking orders of items freshly baked there, including bread, doughnuts and sausage rolls, as well as flour, fruits and vegetables.

A small team of staff are working to keep local people stocked up during lockdown – and are also offering delivery to customers within a five-mile radius for orders over £25.

The new system, which started a few weeks ago in response to the coronavirus pandemic, has been "really well received".

Co-owner of Bircham Windmill, Elly Chalmers said: "It's been pretty hectic but it's going very well so we're very pleased.

"It means we can employ a few staff and keep the locals supplied with food. So far, we've managed to keep up with demand."

On their busiest days, they are co-ordinating around 100 collections and 25 deliveries.

"We love the feeling of putting back into the community, ensuring people have the food they need, plus a few extra treats, to keep them going in this really difficult time," Elly added.

Customers who opt for a contactless collection of their order will have a two-minute time slot to pick up their items from the windmill – they are asked to drive up and, once at the front of the queue, call out the name associated with their order.

The items are then placed on a table for the customers to collect, and the table is disinfected between each collection.

"It's as safe as we can make it," Elly said.

Among the items for sale are fruit and vegetable boxes, costing £15 for small and £25 for large, as well as 'Bircham buns' and other goods made in their bakery.

On Friday, Elly said they had made around 600 or 700 hot cross buns – with extra made for staff at Lynn's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

She said about 150 were set to be given to staff working on one of the wards.

After customer feedback, they are now also selling small bags of dough so people can bake their own bread at home.

Elly said in usual circumstances, visitors are able to bake their own bread at the mill – which is a "very popular activity" there.

"We're hopefully putting smiles on people's faces and making the situation a bit more bearable," she added.

Customers can place orders from Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm and Saturday 9am to 2pm.

Outside of these times, the team will still try to answer so they can take a number and phone back when the office is open again.

Delivery and collection slots are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

For a Wednesday slot orders need to be placed by Monday, by Wednesday for a Friday slot, and by Thursday for a Monday slot – for milk, fruit and veg boxes.

For bread, customers can order the day before, and for flour, yeast and eggs, customers can usually phone their orders and pick up straight away from Monday through to Saturday.

Elly said: "We are very happy to take orders from anyone – they don’t have to have been a customer in the past – it’s great to see many of our regular customers calling in for their goodies and we love to see new faces too."

To find out more, visit www.birchamwindmill.co.uk or to place an order, call 01485 578393, 07768 393552 or 07900 650792.

Anyone who can not get through can text one of the mobile numbers asking for a call-back to place an order, or do the same via email at info@birchamwindmill.co.uk.