Seaham business offering local delivery service to those in self-isolation

The Little Refill Shop in Seaham which sells food where customers can bring their own packaging. Picture: Tom Banks

The eco-friendly shop in Adelaide Row already does its bit for the environment by using scoops and scales to help reduce plastic use.

Now, it’s teamed up with ShopAppy.com to provide a local delivery service to those who are self-isolating and are unable to get deliveries from friends and family.

The offer is only available to those who live in SR2 and SR7 at the moment but Angela Scrafton, known as Mozzy, who runs the shop with husband Kevin, hopes it will help people in the immediate community in their time of need.

Angela Scrafton of The Little Refill Shop is among Seaham businesses offering a delivery service

The ShopAppy.com platform will enable local Seaham businesses to sell their products and special Covid-19 packages in one place online and has also partnered with The Hemp cafe and Coffee and Co to enable same day home delivery.

The offer will be running for the next three months online and orders by telephone on 0191 581 9961 by 12pm or simple click and collect.

Seaham will be the first to operationalise the new delivery-friendly ShopAppy scheme in County Durham in response to Covid-19.

Mozzy said: “I know people are worried and as a part of the community we want to do our best to help our businesses and to help get supplies to people in their time of need.”

In addition to offering products, residents will be able to order ‘buy now, use later’ E-Vouchers from local businesses, in particular service-based businesses like hairdressers, beauty salons, restaurants, bars and cafes that could see numbers drop as people opt to stay in.

Businesses interested in joining the scheme should register online, or contact The Little Refill Shop if they would like more information. If there is a large uptake in the scheme, the businesses will be looking to partner with local taxi firms to undertake deliveries.

Founder of ShopAppy.com, Jackie Mulligan said: “We hope and expect this pandemic will end soon, and that we can minimise the long-term impacts of permanently lost businesses when the peak is over. This gives us all a chance to spend local even if we cannot visit the businesses in person right now.”