'Reduced' aisle in supermarkets

[supersop60]

AIBU to think that my DH and I can afford to pay full price for our groceries and to leave the reduced aisle stuff for the people who might really need it?
DH is always 'careful' with money, but between us we earn about 50K. I don't think we should be buying this stuff and potentially making life harder for someone else.

Our income is several multiples of the OP and we still scan the reduced aisle. There's never much of a scrum when we go, and we buy stuff like meat that can be frozen. We're aiming to clear our mortgage in five years so we're sensible to keep our costs as low as possible and not give in to lifestyle creep despite a high income.

We have a good income but I am partial to perusing the reduced aisle in my local Coop (I rarely go into a big supermarket now, as we do nearly all our food shopping online). I hope it reduces food waste if these items can be sold and for all I know, a millionaire could buy them if I don't.

I think giving food or money to a foodbank would be a better step if you want to help people struggling to buy food.

Good for you OP.

As others have pointed out, it's not a particularly effective act of charity (leaving the reduced items that is) as you're most likely just leaving them either to go to landfill, or for those on "several times your income" who have holidays to pay for their own reasons for pinching the pennies. Which is totally okay, I'm not saying it isn't, I'm just saying your act of altruism is probably a bit pointless.

But it's not laughable as some posters have made out, of ammunition for mockery. The sentiment is entirely laudable (even though you have hinted at your motivation being mostly nit-picking at your dh...) and it goes to show you don't have to be a three-figure income family - or even more than half that - to be prepared to sacrifice a bit of your privilege for those in a less comfortable position.

PS as PP says, don't vote Tory!

I much prefer how Waitrose does it where they yellow sticker the stuff where they are on the shelves. I refuse to get into a scrum in Tesco to fight for very slightly reduced food 😬

I did used to see queues in the fruit and veg bit with people waiting for the fruit to be reduced. I wondered what they were doing but I think it turned into a social event in the end. I don't see it now so maybe Tesco stopped doing it at set times.

My DM gets ridiculous bargains, food reduced to pennies. I've never seen anywhere like it.

Lol the reduced aisle is a rare thing to be seen in my local supermarket! I happened to be there 2 days ago at the time they were putting out the reduced stuff and it was absolute bedlam - people were there with trolleys and just grabbing everything without even looking at what it was!

They would then disappear off with their trolleys, sort through it and then put back what they didn't actually want.

Bonkers!

Just while we're on the subject, Waitrose milk lasts at least a week (I've been known to still be using it two weeks after)after it's useby date. I tend to buy it from there on it's date when they've reduced it to 20p for 4 pints

I find this thread very interesting in the light of the charity shop discussion a little while back... I remember arguing against a whole battalion of people who thought poor old charity shops had a duty to provide cheap stuff for those on low incomes; but it seems that making sure that there's plenty of cheap stuff for the poor doesn't extend to what goes on in huge commercial enterprises full of grabby shoppers!

FWIW I don't think any shop or its customers have to monitor who buys the cheap stuff. It's available for all.

I love the reduced aisle. It helps decide what is for dinner when we can't decide.

It isn't doing anyone bar the supermarket a favour by not using it.

(And as it is mumsnet... my husband is on more than 50k)

Better it gets bought than thrown away

Do I have to leave primark and aldi for the poor people too?