Coronavirus (Covid-19) – what we are doing to help our employees and customers around the world as we continue to serve the services.

Our Facilities

• In line with UK Government direction and other host country action, we have closed all pubs and other non-retail facilities.
• Our shops remain open.
• Our catering facilities remain open and we have implemented a strict social distancing policy and only use disposables.

Keeping Everyone safe

• To ensure we are doing everything to reduce the risk of infection for both our customers and staff, we have introduced distancing measures in all open facilities.
• We are encouraging card and contactless payments to reduce cash handling.
• We have strict hygiene routines with regular cleaning every day.
• Hand sanitiser stations and in catering hand washing stations, are available at all entrances and exits.
• Where at all possible support staff are working from home, however this is clearly not an option for our employees serving in retail and catering and so we ask customers to be respectful and patient.
• We are engaged with local command in all the areas we operate and are reacting to any additional requests for support and to comply with any additional instructions impact on our employees, customers or operations.

Maintaining Supply

• We are working with all our suppliers around the world to maintain the highest level of availability possible for all our customers.
• In retail we are suffering from similar shortages that you have seen in UK retailers but we are using every opportunity to maintain supply into each location.
• In some cases, we have broadened ranges a little so that we have alternatives to those lines that are not available in the short term.
• We have split store employees into separate teams to minimise any risk of disruption to service.
• We are asking our team to fulfil new roles at short notice so that service is maintained across all facilities.

Informing Customers

• We are engaged with local command groups around the world and communicate directly with them.
• We are utilising local social media to update customers on news and developments.

We would like to thank all our teams for working tirelessly to maintain service to the Armed Forces wherever they need us to, be that aboard HMS ships or in far off locations such as the Falklands and we would reassure our customers that we will continue to do so to the best of our ability so that they can continue to do what they do best.

Your NAAFI team

NAAFI was established by the British Government in 1920 when the Expeditionary Force Canteens (EFC) and the Navy and Army Canteen Board (NACB) were combined to run the recreational establishments needed by the Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families.

NAAFI expanded its operation over the next 17 years, supporting military bases and deployments across the world, from Bermuda and Jamaica, to Singapore and China. At the outbreak of WWII NAAFI grew exponentially to support the troops on active service, with the number of employees rising from 8,000 to a peak of 110,000 and the number of trading outlets growing from 1,350 to nearly 10,000.

Post war, NAAFI rescaled its operations, closing canteens at a rate of 200 per week and the number of employees reducing to 65,000 by 1947. From the 1950’s onwards, NAAFI has supported the British Forces at home and abroad, including the conflicts in The Falklands, the two Gulf Wars and Afghanistan amongst many others. Today NAAFI operates in far fewer locations but is present in Germany, Gibraltar, Brunei, the South Atlantic Islands and on board HM Ships, providing convenience and a ‘taste of home’ to our Forces and their families overseas.