Does Lockdown Mean The End Of The Lunchtime Sandwich?

This morning, it was announced that Upper Crust bakeries were being subject to job cuts of up to 5,000 after the coronavirus pandemic forced it to shut branches and caused ‘extremely low sales’.

Operating 580 food and drink outlets across the UK, Upper Crust owners SSP Group say they expect only have one fifth of stores to be open in autumn, with less than 10 operating now. The entire hospitality industry has taken a huge hit during quarantine due to the obvious lack of footfall. But what does the closing of popular lunchtime venues mean for our food and drink habits? Well, sadly, it could spell the end of the illustrious lunchtime sandwich.

‘What’s interesting about the sandwich is that something so unremarkable to us now does tell a story about changing working habits and attitudes to eating,’ food historian Polly Russell told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme. ‘Something has changed now in the amount of time people have, which is probably more because they’re working at home. They’re out less but also they may well have less income so it’s perhaps not surprising that there’s been this decline.’

Toni, a social media manager from London, certainly proves Russell’s theory not just because she’s now found the time to cook more at home and enjoyed her fuller purse, but also because it’s made her re-evaluate the nutritional and taste value of her typical sandwich.

‘I can't ever imagine myself going back to a fridge-cold, slimy, overpriced, unseasoned, tough-to-chew lunchtime sandwich after lockdown,’ she says. ‘One of my favourite things about working from home has been the ability to whip up a hot meal for lunch every day, which in turn means I actually step away from the computer for a while. My lunchtime creations and home-brewed coffee, while not sophisticated, are probably much healthier than a sandwich full of processed meat and cheese, sugar-filled juice and packet of crisps anyway. Plus I'm saving the £8 (don't tell my mum) I would've spent on it - win win!'

Others however, are very much missing the lunchtime trips to their local Pret A Manger. ‘As someone who’s spent most of their adult life on some ridiculous diet or other, the shop-bought sandwich is - very sadly - something of a treat,’ says Emma, an accountant from Essex. ‘I absolutely loved, when I was pregnant, popping to Pret for the most mayonnaisey and cheesy sandwich possible with no guilt.

‘While I’ve been making the odd sandwich at home, they’re never as good as in the shops,’ she continues. ‘By which I mean they’ve never got as much mayonnaise, salt and various bits and bobs they chuck in there that you’d never have at home, all at the same time, to make it taste as good.’

Some have even missed their usual sandwich so much they’ve been ordering them in. ‘I had a toasted cheese sandwich delivered from Karma Bread on South End Green,’ says Laura, another sandwich stan. ‘I’ve also bought the M&S Best Ever Prawn Sandwich, it really is very good, on my lunchbreak to recreate a favourite ‘al desko’ working lunch at home.

‘Sandwiches are just one of life’s little joys aren’t they?’ she continues. ‘And pre-made sandwiches are one of life’s little luxuries, the same as takeaway coffee.’

So, it seems there are two types of people in lockdown when it comes to the great sandwich decline, those who long for days long past of Pret’s Jambon Beurre and those lavishing in their newfound time to cook a homemade meal every dinnertime. Instagram would have you believe we’re all in the second box, embracing home cooking so much we even bake banana bread now instead of just buying a bar of Diary Milk from the local corner shop.

But actually, most of us likely into the first. Statistics show that 76% of Brits bought lunch out every day in 2017, rising on 2016– and we’re willing to bet many of a good portion of them are missing the ease and convenience of a shop bought sandwich. So if you’re one of them, maybe think about how you can help your local – lest we return from lockdown only to find the once sacred sandwich to be no more…

Click through for non-boring lunches you can whip up easily at home...