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LEEDS, England — Ali Moghadam sat down at the end of a busy lunchtime shift and tried to work out how much food he had just given away.

Off the top of his head, he thought it was about 40 bagged lunches, each containing a sandwich, a drink, a piece of fruit and something sweet. All of that had come from his own inventory. The wages he would pay the extra staff member brought on to cope with the demand would come out of his own pocket, too.

He did not know many of the people who had come in, with their children, to claim one. Some had left a message on Facebook. Others had called ahead. A few had simply turned up and gently inquired at the register. Mr. Moghadam had not asked any questions. With a smile, he just handed over a bag.

Like all small businesses, this has been a difficult year for Yorkshire Crust, the compact delicatessen with gleaming tables and artfully exposed lighting that Mr. Moghadam runs in Horsforth, a suburb of Leeds. He was forced to close for eight weeks during lockdown, and reopened initially only as a takeout service.

Source: New York Times

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