A north London bakery has been awarded for its support of the local community throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Dunns, a household name in Crouch End and Muswell Hill, has baked more than 5,000 loaves and 15,000 hot cross buns for food banks since March last year.
This contribution during lockdown, which the bakery still continues today, earned the business The Lord Mayor’s Livery Covid-19 award.
The gong was collected by Dunns’ managing director Lewis Freeman on July 19 at the City of London’s Mansion House, the Lord Mayor’s official residence.
"It's really nice to win the award,” the Dunns boss told the Ham&High. “We don't do it for the recognition, we do it because we feel like, as local employers and food producers we're in a position of privilege.
“We can help others so we certainly should. But it’s always nice to get a little pat on the back for doing good things, so it was lovely.”
Dunns was founded in 1820 and Lewis is now in the sixth generation of the Freeman family to have run the Haringey institution.
Throughout the coronavirus pandemic businesses have faced enormous pressure to survive, with many having closed for good.
But despite the huge financial, social and safety challenges posed by Covid, the chair of the Crouch End Traders Association says his stores’ connection with their neighbourhoods has grown even stronger.
“Everyone of course really appreciates Crouch End and Muswell Hill, but with people spending more time at home they have still come to really appreciate the local businesses around them,” Lewis said.
“These businesses worked really hard throughout the pandemic to keep on serving their communities and do the local deliveries.
“It's really tightened the bond between customer and business where the businesses have worked so hard to make sure they've kept prosperous, kept jobs for their staff, and kept serving the people in the community.”
Dunns is a member of the Craft Bakers Association and gives work experience opportunities to pupils from local secondary schools.
It supports National Doughnut Week and the annual YMCA fun run, and it raises money for the Children’s Trust.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here