There is a lot of people that don’t understand how bad it is lately to get groceries for someone who is disabled and can’t get out.
Here I write a background about what is going on with supermarkets and the government and then my experience, followed by a list of what supermarkets are doing what for disabled and vulnerable people which I will update as it changes.
I am seeing so many disabled and vulnerable people including myself who are unable to get groceries in the current COVID situation due to the fact they cannot go out due to either their disability or their health condition, and are not getting any help from the supermarkets for online slots.
It is almost impossible to get a delivery slot from supermarkets, but those that are not disabled or vulnerable are getting them when there are people who need those slots more as they cannot get out of the house or are high risk.
Some supermarkets prioritise disabled and vulnerable people in-store assuming you are physically able to get out which not everyone is like myself, and the ones that have online shopping are starting to use the government list which only extremely vulnerable are allowed to sign up to, leaving vulnerable and disabled people unable to get a slot even though the supermarkets claim on their websites that they are prioritising “elderly, disabled and vulnerable” even when actually they aren’t.
I am not sure if it is simply ignorance, that they don’t realise we can’t sign up as their customer support tells you to sign up to the gov list if you say you are disabled or vulnerable, even though in fact the list is just for those they class themselves as extremely vulnerable.
Government definition of extremely vulnerable and vulnerable.
Disabled do not fall under either.
Only those they class as extremely vulnerable are allowed to sign up to the government list.
Sainsbury’s are only prioritising those classed as “extremely vulnerable” online and if you are disabled or vulnerable you are out of luck online! Their CEO letter on their site claims they are prioritising disabled and vulnerable but they aren’t at all as if you call or tweet them, they just tell you to fill in the government form which we aren’t eligible to do.
Edit: They now updated the CEO letter to remove disabled being mentioned!
Waitrose, Ocado, Tesco and Asda are also following suit by using the list and more will be doing the same, leaving more disabled people who are physically unable to get out of the house, unable to get groceries.
If you are over 70 some supermarkets let you tell them this and they will give you priority, but if you are disabled or vulnerable you’re out of luck!
I myself am disabled and chronically ill with no relatives and spend all my time in the house all-day-everyday, plus I live rurally.
I find it impossible to get a slot for delivery and most have a minimum spend which as a disabled person who only gets £300 a month and lives off 70p a day, this can be too much for me but I have no choice as I can’t go out, although getting a slot is impossible.
Delivery costs are as much as £7 which is the equivalent of 10 days of food for me!
I usually live off a small selection of cheap Aldi and Lidl food as those prices are cheaper. I can’t afford branded food as otherwise, I would run out of food even quicker than I do already.
I am still trying to get a slot anywhere I can, some places I can’t afford to shop at as some are much too expensive and/or have a £40 minimum which is MUCH too much for me.
You would think supermarkets would lower the minimum cost for delivery but they aren’t doing.
When you live off 70p a day, doing an online shop is hard as I don’t spend much in one go as I simply can’t afford to as I don’t get such a small amount of money a month.
Even with this I cannot get a slot anywhere even at the expensive places, plus seeing as some supermarkets are now only using the government list to prioritise, I am completely unable to get a slot as being a disabled housebound person doesn’t give you priority!
Doesn’t matter how disabled or how vulnerable you are, unless you fall into a smaller group of people the government class as extremely vulnerable, you are literally out of luck unless you get lucky at one of the other supermarkets that aren’t as yet using the government list.
Lucky many have relatives or friends nearby, sadly I am not that lucky.
Lots of people on Twitter, Facebook and forums all over the internet have people like myself complaining that they can’t get a slot and are disabled so can’t go out but aren’t getting prioritised online even though many supermarkets are claiming they are prioritising us online, yet when you actually speak to them they just tell you to fill in the government form which we can’t do and then they say they can’t help!
Supermarkets that want to prioritise people need to realise that the government extremely vulnerable list is 1.5m people and excludes all disabled and vulnerable people. Some must know this as some say for the elderly to call them, but nothing about disabled people who physically can’t go out or those classed as vulnerable who are at high risk.
UK Supermarkets Prioritisation For Vulnerable & Disabled
Aldi
No priority
Asda
Priority online only if classed as extremely vulnerable.
No priority for disabled or vulnerable online.
Co-op
In-store 8am to 9am Monday to Saturday and 10am to 11am on Sundays
Lidl
No priority
Morrisons
No priority in-store or online
Ocado
No priority online (soon they are using the extremely vulnerable government list)
Sainsbury’s
In-store 8am and 9am Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Priority online only if classed as extremely vulnerable or over 70.
No priority for disabled or vulnerable online.
Tesco
In store 9am and 10am Monday, Wednesday and Friday
Priority online only if classed as extremely vulnerable.
No priority for disabled or vulnerable online.
Waitrose
First hour of opening in-store
Priority online for over 70’s (soon they are using the extremely vulnerable government list)
No priority for disabled or vulnerable online
Updated: 09/04/2020
