Morrisons offering 10% discount to students, but not to OAPs when many will starve to death this winter

[user1474095534]

I think this is a really bad idea for Morrisons to offer 10% off to students, but fuck all to pensioners. This comes just as the winter arrives and respectable charities like Age UK are warning that 1/4 of pensioners are living in poverty and many will have to starve or freeze to death this winter.

Mother and MIL both own homes outright, get full state pension, private pensions, free travel and are comfortable. Students get no benefits, have to pay travel and accommodate costs.

Many people in the UK do go hungry and many are malnourished. Starving to death through poverty in the UK is fortunately very rare. Obviously people with complex needs such as addiction or severe mental health problems are at greater risk.

Older people are at risk of malnutrition through poor care - not being helped to eat the meals made for them in hospitals and care homes, for example. Older people often live in badly maintained and poorly insulated private housing and refuse offers of help to improve their homes.

All of these things are sad and a problem for society. But none of them is the fault of Morrison's offering students a discount.

YABU. Lots shops give student discounts.

I think it is a great business idea as students are currently managing on a low income but have the potential to be the high earners/spenders of the future.

Have to agree with others that many pensioners are better off than most groups in society. ILs have a lot more than we do (although they still want everything for nothing!) and even my Mum who lives on just a state pension and a very small widow's pension related to Dad's job says she is far more comfortably off than she has ever been earlier in life

Old people starve to death because they forget to eat, have poor social care and a lack of family support.

As many of the students are going to go onto jobs which will pay taxes and help boost some of that social are support, I am fine with them being offered a discount.

I do think that there should be a system where by students get a reduction in their student loan interest for spending a few hours a week helping the elderly (for instance, doing the shopping, making them a meal, taking them out for a walk).

I do think that there should be a system where by students get a reduction in their student loan interest for spending a few hours a week helping the elderly (for instance, doing the shopping, making them a meal, taking them out for a walk)

Maybe a lot of students are too busy working and studying to partake in walking pensioners. But I guess if it's cold they could make use of the pensioner's winter fuel allowance but visiting them at their home.

I would like to offer my apologies to the mumsnet community. The 1/4 is in my region, I did and do not want to mislead. I understand that this is different across the whole of the UK as an average. The 1/7 in poverty is still very high. OAPs often do suffer from malnutrition but that is related to cost, what is cheaper making a very healthy chicken stirfry with organic fresh vegetables, or having half a 30p loaf of bread with 20p jam on it? They both contain calories but one is very low in nutrients.

Is it related to cost? I am not sure, in a lot of cases I think it comes down to loneliness and not seeing the point in cooking when your alone.

People of all ages live in poverty, it certainly isn't an issue restricted to older people.

So where exactly are your stats from op?

Maybe a lot of students are too busy working and studying to partake in walking pensioners. But I guess if it's cold they could make use of the pensioner's winter fuel allowance but visiting them at their home.*

I know many students who have plenty of free time and would jump at the chance to have the huge amount of debt they receive reduced. Students do not study 24/7 - some do, but they are the minority.

I used to help an elderly couple in return for their spare room - saved me three years of London rent whilst I was studying. It was an amazing set up that did not take time off from me studying, and I could have a part time job as well. I still had to eat breakfast and dinner so I just made more and shared it with them, still had to clean, so I helped them with that and I still had to run errands, so I'd take one or both of them with me.

what is cheaper making a very healthy chicken stirfry with organic fresh vegetables, or having half a 30p loaf of bread with 20p jam on it? They both contain calories but one is very low in nutrients.

None of my grandparents would eat a stirfry, because it would be firmly into 'I'm not eating that forrin muck' territory, whether they got the ingredients at a 10% or 100% discount. As others have said upthread, the issue is not really being able to afford food, so much as being too proud to ask for help

I really don't think malnurished pensioners is due to the price of food though as i said before 10% off their Morrisons shop isnt going to solve that. My pensioner parents are mid 60s still fit enough to jump on a bus to morrisons where mum says is cheapest but when they are not fit to jump on the bus we will take them. Some older people dont have help or dont want to be a bother or just not able to cook a stirfry so eat jam sandwiches

When my grandmother still was able to live on her own she often ate a bowl of porridge for dinner, or had a slice of bread and jam for lunch.

It wasn't down to poverty though. She couldn't be bothered cooking, was too tired, and had a much smaller appetite than when she was younger.

She really needed someone to keep her company and cook her meals and she could well have afforded to pay them, but lived very rurally and there was no-one who wanted the job more regularly than once a week.

She also frequently under-heated her house. Again, not down to poverty - she had thousands in the bank and lived in a very small property so the winter fuel allowance would cover most of her winter bill. But she had heard and read so much about fuel poverty and the price of fuel and pensioners not being able to heat their homes that she got it into her head that fuel was a luxury and deliberately turned heaters off.

It's very complicated and her situation would not have improved by a 10% discount in Morrisons, nor a blanket increase in financial provision for pensioners.

I bet there is lots of people living like your Grandmother sleepy mum is starting with complaining about heating her house in winter its so expensive etc she can afford heating on

The 1/7 in poverty is still very high

Poverty does not equal starving and freezing to death though. Are you going to apologise for that nonsense statement.

Many pensioners are baby boomers, they have more money that anyone else fgs.

Perhaps they might not be so hungry if they stopped voting Conservative in such large numbers.

Pensioners could always apply for uni...?

This is the reason that I boycott Yo Sushi, which offers a 25% student discount.

I don't care to subsidise student sushi, thanks.

And I agree with all the PPs - this is a business decision.

Young people need more calories than OAPs.

OAPs are more at risk of forgetting/neglecting to eat properly, than they are at risk of not being able to simply afford food.
Just pointing out the obvious.

'Yes it is a business decision, I agree 100% with that. But what I'm saying is this could give them very bad PR and be very bad for business!

It is very unlikely a positive message such as 10% student discount would be bad PR.

Bad PR would be someone standing in the entrance dressed as the grim reaper and laughing at old people

Adds Yo sushi! to places to visit with a discount.

Bad PR would be someone standing in the entrance dressed as the grim reaper and laughing at old people. That's not bad PR, that's fucking hilarious!

There are lots of businesses who offer student discount, some who offer senior citizens discount and others offer NHS or military discounts. Lots of businesses offer discounts via mailing lists or reward cards.

It's all just a gimmick to try and attract a certain market. If you wanted everything equal then you would have to abolish all discounts of any kind.

I wonder if there are places that give MNers a discount?

Just mention MN and you get 5% off....

Sainsburys has an offer for MNers at the moment

www.mumsnet.com/partner-offers/sainsburys

I wonder if there are places that give MNers a discount?

Just mention MN and you get 5% off....

Only on fruit shoots though