Screens will be in place when Higgins Poultry Farm re-opens its shop on Friday Photo / Supplied
Screens will be in place when Higgins Poultry Farm re-opens its shop on Friday Photo / Supplied
Higgins Poultry Farm at 107 Rapanui Rd has been operational throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, but Friday marks the reopening of the farm shop, with measures in place to minimise contact and maintain physical distancing.
Manager Dave Higgins said while the farm was classed as an essential business, the shop hadremained closed to "keep the staff and customers safe".
"We've actually been pretty flat out lately," Higgins said.
"We still supply supermarkets, and with everyone being at home a lot more, there's probably been a lot more cooking and baking, and people going back to their roots.
"Ninety-five per cent of our eggs are sold to supermarkets, so the shop was a risk we felt we could stop completely by shutting."
The staff that had continued to work through the level 4 lockdown had been maintaining physical distancing and avoiding "bottlenecks of people", Higgins said.
"Safety standards have to be taken very seriously.
"Sometimes during the week, there will be up to 20 people working at a time, and If there was a Covid-19 outbreak, unlike other businesses, we can't just close the doors and shut.
"We still have birds to feed, and we're working seven days a week, even on Christmas Day."
Higgins said two staff members had been tested for Covid-19, with both results coming back negative.
Volunteer Elizabeth Sanson at City Mission Whanganui, with eggs donated by Higgins Poultry Farm Photo / Supplied
"We've changed our shifts around over the last few weeks and really made sure there haven't been any groups of workers together at one time.
"We're pretty lucky here in Whanganui to have so few cases, and now I guess the next challenge is to help out our local businesses as they try and get back on their feet."
Higgins said he hoped the public "adhered to the rules" when the shop reopened on Friday morning.
"We've got screens in place, and there's a barrier between customers and my staff.
"There's always a risk with people coming onto the site, but as long as they are courteous and play by the rules, we'll be able to carry it on."
With bakeries and cafes remaining closed during alert level 4, Higgins said eggs that were due to be sold to these local outlets had been donated to City Mission Whanganui instead.
"People out there could have been struggling, so it was great to help out where we could."
Higgins said he was "lucky to have such a great staff", who had continued to work through the Covid-19 pandemic.
"If the whole country had been forced to shut completely, who knows what we'd be coming back to at the end of all of this."
The shop will have a full range of SPCA-approved free-range and barn eggs available, albeit during the reduced opening hours of 8am to 5pm on Tuesday and Fridays, and 8am to 1.30pm on Saturdays.
