Glebe Farm has seen a surge in orders of gluten free porridge oats, granola and oat drink since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Demand from existing channels and has been supplemented by online outlets such as our new Amazon store. We have also been able to support local customers directly – although the strict distancing rules mean the interaction is not quite as personal as normal!

Home baking has become hugely popular during lock-down, and with long shelf lives and healthy nutritional profile, our oat products fall firmly into the ‘pantry staple’ category – making our products a natural place to turn to in these times of uncertainty.

Rebecca Rayner said: “To say we’ve been inundated with orders is an understatement. Ramping up every element of our business, from manufacture and quality control to packing and order processing, all at the same time has required some business skills that we didn’t know we even had.”

Fulfilling orders has involved moving many of the office crew to work from home to meet self isolating guidance, whilst simultaneously doubling shifts at the farm for key workers managing physical order handling to ensure we can meet retail and customer orders.

Glebe Farm has also recently donated a range of its gluten free porridge oats and granolas to staff at Hinchingbrooke Hospital to help ensure they have access to nutritious and healthy food.

Rebecca continues: “We are all indebted to those on the frontline. This includes colleagues on the farm, through to delivery drivers, retailers and, of course, to the quite extraordinary workers in the NHS. We’ve seen reports of staff at Hinchingbrooke Hospital working long and challenging hours and sometimes having difficult getting hold of wholesome food after coming off shift. So we wanted to show our gratitude by ensuring they receive a nutritious start, or end, to their day.”

“Our thoughts are with all those dealing with very difficult circumstances at the current time.”