UK - Resources for help getting food during quarantine and other supermarket related problems

The only other possibility @Wonko is that it's a result of the letter that I sent to my local store rather than my email to Mike Coupe which has then been passed up to head office. I put both my phone number and email in the letter. I wasn't expecting that to reach the store until today though as the post has been really slow where I live so I would think it was more likely a response to my email to Mike Coupe.
 
Wonko said:
:)

Definitely a positive sign - I sent him an email a few days ago and haven't heard anything yet, but at least I now know they are reading them :thumbup:

(I didn't supply a phone number, only an email)
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Yeah me too. I emailed ceo's of tesco, sainsbury's and morrisons and had a reply back from local MP. Stating very clearly that I do not want to be put in vulnerable group but need to be able to get food. They said they are going to raise the issue about people with ME not being able to order food etc. but in the meantime told me that the local council have help on offer for the food side of things.

I replied saying that as long as it's not linked to the vulnerable group list and is food only I am interested. MP is going to enquire on my behalf. Feeling very nervous now :unsure: Last time I had an MP to step in to help (with my scooter blocked in cupboard) they made everything massively worse.
 
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I had a reply to my email to the CEO for Ocado:

Dear [My name]

Thank you for your email to Tim Steiner, who has read through it and has asked that I, as a member of his team, take ownership of this issue and investigate on his behalf.

As you are aware we are receiving an unprecedented amount of demand at the moment and working round the clock to feed as many homes as we can. We apologise if you took offence from one of the emails our agents have responded to you with, feedback will be passed on. We are working alongside government guidelines and the vulnerable lists that are available which we are cross-referencing with our customer databases. If you are not on the list, we do urge you to have a look into the link a little further.

In the meantime, we have noted your current situation to our system as we recognise our duty to support the most vulnerable during these challenging times. We’re constantly working on identifying the customers and where possible have reached out to them, offering priority access to Ocado.com so we can help meet their critical needs.

We can see that you are also an Anytime SmartPass member, we consider you to be one of our best customers, so we’ve set up a temporary priority queue to enable you to book a delivery slot each week, 7 days apart. As you have future orders booked, you won’t be contacted just yet, however, please do keep an eye out on your emails for this.

I hope this puts your mind at rest that we are working really hard to help all our customers, especially those who most need it. Please know we are doing all we can to cooperate as fairly as possible during these most stressful times.

Please keep checking the website and your emails from Ocado for any updates advising you when you can book a slot. Due to the demand on our website we would recommend trying to place your final order straight away, to avoid having to access the website multiple times to edit your order.

Thank you for your continued understanding whilst we do our best to respond to the ever-changing situation and continue to play our part in feeding the nation.

Kind regards,
Anna Watts
Office of the CEO
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So that sounds promising.

If you don’t get an acceptable response from your first point of contact to your preferred supermarket (as I didn’t), it might be worth making a complaint.
 
JemPD said:
discovered this 12 ready meals delivered for £30 from soulfood - I've eaten their meals before, they're vegan but as I meat eater I still enjoyed them. Quite small portion but very tasy & healthy!
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/d.../readymeals-delivered-to-your-door-discounts/

@lunarainbows think you might like these?
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Oh this is a really good idea! I’ve had one or two soul food pots before (not straight from their website but from supermarkets) and they’re really quite tasty! It’s good they’re delivering straight from their website in bulk.

On that link I also see pasta evangelists mentioned. Oh the memories. I got those boxes for a brief time last year, or it might have been the year before, I remember their chocolate hazelnut gnocchi. Dessert pasta. Even their savouries. If anyone likes pasta, and is able to eat fatty food, I recommend it so so highly. They provide sauce, pasta, topping, you have to heat it up.
 
I don't suffer with anxiety. But I'm feeling it right now, probably unwarranted but feeling it none the less.

MP contacted my council's support hub on my behalf, and a social worker text me. So difficult answering questions... Need to answer just enough to get food, but not so honest that they decide to take over my life.

I explained to her that I do not want to be in the vulnerable group, I just need access to food.

They don't have the power to enable supermarket shopping (I'm guessing without the vulnerable group) all they can do is deliver a food package once a week until the lockdown has ended.

She has placed a referral for me. I don't know what happens now.

She said if I do manage to get a supermarket delivery at any point and don't need the food packages, just to text her and she will cancel it. (I didn't bother mentioning the morrison's food box I'm getting on Saturday)
 
JaneL said:
[From Ocado]We can see that you are also an Anytime SmartPass member, we consider you to be one of our best customers, so we’ve set up a temporary priority queue to enable you to book a delivery slot each week, 7 days apart. As you have future orders booked, you won’t be contacted just yet, however, please do keep an eye out on your emails for this.
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I received a similar email last week (but still have one future order left).

Have any Ocado Smartpass customers received the email allowing them to book a slot yet? I'm a bit scared it's going to stuff up...
 
Hell..hath..no..fury... said:
Well that's never happened before, not so soon anyway nor to this severity :nailbiting: I've often had lemons out at room temp for weeks and they've been fine.

This pack of three is only a few days old :thumbsdown:

View attachment 10391 View attachment 10392
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My daughter had to throw away two packs of meat a little while back, well inside their use-by date and delivered online from ASDA. I think there are some significant supply chain issues at the moment, and I suspect a consequence is that perishables are not getting anything like enough time in refrigeration, probably instead in crates in warehouse gangways because there is not enough refrigeration space. Something is going badly wrong; understandable but at the worst possible time. People and society in general can least afford to throw food away, and can least afford to go sick with food poisoning. I decided to report it but could find no sensible route to do that.
 
This is my message from Tesco today (as a online delivery plan subscriber):

We know that, during this incredibly challenging time, it’s been hard to find available home delivery and Click+Collect slots.

We understand how frustrating this is; it’s mainly down to a huge increase in demand for online deliveries. Although we’ve added as many extra slots as we can, we’re holding them back for our most vulnerable customers – to try and make sure they have everything they need.

We realise that the lack of availability is inconvenient – and that’s why we’re suspending all Delivery Saver subscription fees until we can offer the full service again. Plus we’re refunding half of the fee you paid for March to make up for the inconvenience. We’ll let you know when we can give you the Delivery Saver experience you are used to.

You’ll still have access to the free home delivery and Click+Collect slots that would normally be covered by your Delivery Saver plan; you just won’t have to pay the subscription fee while we’re dealing with this high demand.

We’re still working hard to add even more free slots, but for the time being, we ask those who are able to safely come to stores to do so.

Thanks for your patience and understanding.
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But I'm assuming they are planning on using the 'shielding' list to judge who is vulnerable.
 
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Hell..hath..no..fury... said:
:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: Well at least I know what kind of reply, I'll be getting from them now. Looks like sainsbury's is in the lead so far with regard to giving a toss.
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That was the message they sent to all their regular online delivery subscribers! They don't even offer 'Click and Collect' in Somerset. Apparently my nearest store that offers this is in Wales...
 
I'm not feeling quite so jubilant this morning Previously I wasn't allowed access to delivery slots at Sainsbury's - a message would appear saying I had not been identified as vulnerable. I logged on this morning and I am now being allowed access - but there aren't any slots actually available to book with them either! So I'm not out of the woods - I'm still going to have to stay up till midnight to try and get a slot but at least I have got another supermarket to try. Failing that I shall have to email the guy at head office who rang me yesterday.
 
I had this marketing email from Sainsbury's this morning. They do seem to be the most proactive for vulnerable customers and if they are increasing capacity maybe thing will improve.


[/QUOTE
Supporting elderly and vulnerable customers

We are continuing to prioritise elderly and vulnerable customers for online delivery slots and our customer Careline has helped 170,000 customers, who will now get priority access to online delivery. In total, we have offered priority booking to more than 450,000 elderly or vulnerable customers. I apologise to customers who have been struggling to get through to our online team. The team is working at full capacity and we are doing our very best to get to people as quickly as possible.

We are expanding our groceries online service as much and as quickly as we can. Two weeks ago we had 370,000 online grocery slots available. By the end of next week we will have increased this to 600,000 across home delivery and click and collect and we will continue to add more capacity over the coming weeks.

]
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Wow!! It was yesterday afternoon that the social worker text me, and this morning, 10 minutes ago, a food parcel arrived on my doorstep at 10am :woot: It was downstairs but I ain't complaining! Just a normal young lad delivered it.

This is what was included:

1 toilet roll,
Bag of noodles,
Bag of Oats,
Heinz chicken soup,
Heinz tomato soup,
Tin of tuna,
Tin of beans,
Tin of sweetcorn,
Carton of semi skimmed milk,
Carton of blended tomatoes,
6 bread buns,
Tetley's tea bags,
Fruity pot of Pineapple,
Packet of custard creams,
Carton of Orange Juice.

image.jpg

I don't 'think' I'm in the vulnerable group. Had no annoying texts today so far. I'll have to text the social worker to thank her. So this appears to be the weekly government food aid.

Thanks government! :thumbup:

I wonder if there's a way to make them come upstairs. Knackered now.
 
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