COVID-19 Changes Christmas Turkey Collection

In December 2020, we adapted our Christmas turkey collection arrangements in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing a drive-through click-and-collect service at our Danbury farm in Essex. The system allowed customers who had ordered online to collect their KellyBronze turkeys from their cars, reducing close contact at a time when social-distancing measures were affecting normal Christmas routines. The change formed part of our preparations for an unusually uncertain festive season. Restrictions on household mixing and changes to Christmas plans meant turkey producers had to respond to shifting customer requirements while also finding safer ways to manage the busy pre-Christmas collection period. For Kelly Turkeys, the drive-through provided a practical way to continue serving customers directly from the farm while adapting the collection process to the circumstances of the pandemic. The arrangements also reflected wider changes taking place across food retail during 2020, when online ordering and contact-reduced collection became increasingly important. For a business whose Christmas trade traditionally involved customers visiting the farm to collect their birds, it was a notable change to a long-established seasonal routine.