Coles addresses Christmas food shortage fears
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<p>Supermarket giant Coles has reassured customers that there will be no food shortages around the festive season.</p>
<p>As there's only 99 days until Christmas, supermarket bosses held crucial talks with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to ensure that the hard lockdown won't lead to food shortages around the nation.</p>
<p>Coles' Chief Operating Officer Matthew Swindells told <em>Today</em> that the company is prepared for the Christmas boom.</p>
<p>"(There's) lots of work still to do, we are not through it all yet, but things are looking very promising," Swindells told <em>Today.</em></p>
<p>"We are all very much aligned and playing as a team to make sure we can do two things; The first is keep our customers and team members safe. The second is maintain food supply through to the community. </p>
<p>"We just need to plan for that and continue to work together."</p>
<p>The company's current concern is making sure food comes down the right supply channels.</p>
<p>Lockdown and coronavirus has complicated things as Coles starts preparing for the festive season six months in advance.</p>
<p>"It's a big logistics challenge. The team are up for it, they do a great job every year," he said.</p>
<p>"There is a large amount of fresh food, as you can imagine, we all like turkey, hams, we want them as fresh as possible, we want the best food in front of our families. </p>
<p>"Whilst this will be a different Christmas, a COVID-safe Christmas, I think everyone is really looking forward to celebrating."</p>
<p>Swindells has urged customers to use online shopping and click-to-collect methods to ensure that they don't miss out on the items they need.</p>
<p>"Don't leave it to the last minute," he said.</p>
<p>"Try and pick quieter times to do shopping, maybe don't pick Saturday or Sunday afternoon.</p>
<p>"There is a way in which we can all work together and make sure we get through this and all celebrate Christmas in a COVID safe way."</p>
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