Supermarkets must end unfair delivery charges and minimum spend thresholds for shielders – that is the message delivered to the CEOs of the UK’s leading grocery retailers by Disability Rights UK and twenty other charities.
Shielders are unable to shop in supermarkets in the third lockdown without high risk to health. Many disabled people who are shielding live on benefits. Basic state benefits amount to around £74-90 (excluding rent). The average minimum spend requested by supermarkets for free delivery is £40 (£75 for Ocado), with delivery when charged costing up to an additional £7.
DR UK’s Fazilet Hadi said: “The thresholds required by supermarkets might be achievable for a double middle income working household, but for shielders who have no option other than to use delivery services right now, it is often a choice between heating or eating.
“We are at the worst point in the pandemic, at the coldest point in the year. We read economic headlines about profit margins tumbling because supermarkets are investing in more online solutions. They are still making a profit, at the expense of those in society who are currently living in extreme isolation and penury.
“We are asking supermarkets to practically help shielders until the group four vaccine rollout has been completed. Tesco says ‘every little helps’. Sainsburys says ‘live well for less’. Asda says ‘save money, live better’. We would ask them to make their slogans a reality for shielders right now by suspending delivery charges and lowering minimum spends.”
Read the letter here: https://www.independentage.org/news-media/press-releases/joint-open-letter-to-supermarkets