Queen’s Birthday Honours recognise the street-level heroes of the pandemic

The Queen’s Birthday Honours have been announced, and in the independent grocery sector this is clearly not a year for knighthoods.

The most high profile figure in the list with a connection to the food industry is The Great British Bake Off’s Pru Leith, who is made a Dame for services to Food, broadcasting and charity.

In place of gongs for the captains of industry, the people recognised around the sector this year have largely been workers rewarded for their duty and efforts in helping ordinary people under extraordinary circumstances.

Two postmasters, Sara Barlow of Rainhill Post Office in St Helens, Merseyside and Luke Francis, Head Postmaster in Bude, Cornwall, both become Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM).

The Co-op scores a brace of medals with Qamar Nawaz of Stockport, Greater Manchester and Hannah Findlay of Biddulph in Staffs, both described as frontline food retail workers, also being made BEMs, for services to the food supply chain.

That honour also went to James Beardwell, a Sainsbury customer experience assistant in Witham, Essex; and to Daniel Burke, an Iceland store manager in Dunmurry, Belfast.

Clearly the pandemic has been uppermost in the thinking behind this year’s honours, with the hardships engendered by lockdown and furlough acknowledged with several awards to those involved in food charity.

The charity FareShare, which has been fighting hunger and tackling food waste during the pandemic, saw its CEO Crawford Boswell made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), while the manager of its London operation, Rachel Ledwith, was made an MBE – both for services to charitable food provision.

With foodbanks having proven so vital to so many families over the past year, it was pleasing that their enterprise and hard work was celebrated by making Heather Shepherd of Tameside East Foodbank in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, and the Reverend Christine Jones, the founder of Working for Food Justice foodbank in West Cheshire, Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM).

“The Queen’s Birthday Honours allow us to pay tribute to all those who have gone above and beyond in their service to this country,” said Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

“Throughout the pandemic we have seen countless examples of every day heroes. From those using their expertise to help develop life-saving vaccines, which are now being rolled out successfully to all parts of the UK, to the people who have given time and energy to care for their communities.

“We should take heart from the stories of those receiving honours today and be inspired by their courage and kindness. May they be a reminder of all that we can achieve when we come together as a society.”