Everyone is finding it tough at the moment and wants life to get back to normal.

We will be profiling local independent businesses regularly over the coming weeks in a feature called UP CLOSE IN MALDON DISTRICT to help showcase our town centre and village traders. By spending locally, you help support local jobs - and so build our communities back stronger.

Today we talk to Charlie Fillingham about how his online delivery service, Saltmarsh Deli, is enabling residents to reduce their carbon footprint and support local businesses in light of the pandemic.

When the National Food Strategy was published last month, entrepreneur Charlie Fillingham knew that his new business, Saltmarsh Deli, could help to address the "critical issues" with our modern food system it revealed.

The government-commissioned report linked our food system to "major environmental issues", such as worldwide food production contributing 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Charlie said: "Working with Saltmarsh Deli is a real bonus because it really helps us to address that."

Saltmarsh Deli, based just outside Maldon, is an online delivery "one stop shop" service which only sources products from local businesses. After opening in January, it already has around 500 product lines from nearly 50 suppliers from the Saltmarsh Coast.

Charlie said: "Buying locally not only enables us to reduce the carbon footprint associated with the food - we're not having it flown in from abroad - but actually, by doing that, we're able to influence producers into looking to find further measures to reduce their carbon footprint."

Charlie particularly wants Saltmarsh Deli to help local businesses survive following an incredibly challenging year.

The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic encouraged him to set up the service after seeing local food and drink producers along the Saltmarsh Coast suffer significantly due to the closure of restaurants, pubs and hospitality events.

He said: "We're really working on making ourselves meaningful for customers in a post-pandemic era."

The business offers a growing supply of gluten free, vegetarian and vegan foods, alongside produce including flour, jam, fresh meat and game, prepared meals and pies, fresh bread, cheese, butter, sauces, eggs, edible oils, coffee and tea, crisps, milkshakes, chocolate, beer, wine and spirits.

On the doorstep, Charlie is delivering to residents who are increasingly eager to invest in their community and source their products locally.

Indeed, Saltmarsh Deli is supporting the community in more ways than one - recently, it has begun to form close partnerships with charitable producers such as Lauriston Farm.

The community-owned social farming business, on the Blackwater Estuary, works alongside people with learning disabilities to grow vegetables, raise cattle and sheep, and look after wildlife. Its products are all organic.

Saltmarsh Deli delivers Lauriston Farm's freshly-picked vegetables for free.

Charlie said: "We have elected to support them - both financially and in partnership marketing their products.

"We're finding that lots of people are really interested in that sort of partnership, so we're selling a fair amount of products now with Lauriston Farm."

He added: "I think recognising what people really want from an offer is really important, and people are keen to support more local - particularly products that are indirectly supporting more people into employment."

Saltmarsh Deli is constantly adding to its supply to meet customer demand - it has grown from 300 to around 500 product lines over the course of the year, and to nearly 50 suppliers.

All this, for Charlie, makes his service "meaningful and exciting" for customers.

He said: "What we're doing is almost preparing ourselves for a post-pandemic future, whereby people really love local.

"They love the fact that we're supporting social enterprises with some exciting products that are made local, supporting society and also addressing the carbon footprint."

He added: "Really, what we've done is just listen to our customers."