If Old and Vulnerable are prioritised...

[NotVulnerableStillHungry]

...what the fuck is everyone else supposed to do?

Ocado - prioritising elderly and vulnerable
Waitrose - prioritising elderly and vulnerable
Sainsburys - prioritising elderly and vulnerable
Iceland - prioritising elderly and vulnerable
Morrisons - can't tell as 19014 in the queue trying to get in.

Prioritising the elderly and vulnerable is great, obviously, but it doesn't actually work if you don't have capacity to serve anyone else. Because then it's not prioritising! It's saying "We will not serve you if you are not elderly or vulnerable".

And surprise, surprise, people who aren't vulnerable still need to eat.

So I cannot get anything from any supermarket either delivered or to collect (and I've expanded my search area to 8 miles from my house, nothing). And my local co-op is stripped bare of literally everything except milk, chocolate biscuits and aunt Bessie's frozen yorkshire puds. What good is that, to anyone?

The problem comes when you wind up having to isolate for 2 weeks because someone in your house has symptoms. Cant go down the shops then...

Of course YABU.
The system is put in place so those that can't physically get to the shops or where it would be high risk to do so are hopefully able to get some shopping delivered. If you're healthy you have no reason not to go to the supermarket.

I have an online slot because DD & I have a rare disease which puts us more at risk for of serious complications. I'm also getting a few bits for elderly neighbors that my DH leaves at their doors. I always online shop as to physically do it would leave me exhausted & recovering for a couple of days anyway. Should I give that up for you?

The thing is, those vulnerable people NEED home deliveries. You just WANT a home delivery.

You just have to find another way. Expand your search a little. Catering suppliers are often delivering to residential addresses now, same with butchers and the like.

There's Amazon Prime Now. There's smaller convenience shops (our local Nisa has had full shelves even when the Tesco, less than half a mile away from it was bare)

You ask for help from friends and family. Or in local Facebook groups there are often people offering to deliver shopping. We have a taxi company doing it here too.

Well it's even more annoying if you are one of the extremely vulnerable or vulnerable group and still can't get deliveries.

You basically get a letter saying you're seriously fucked if you get the virus and too stay away from everyone, even your own dog and dcs.

Then they tell the world that yo are getting priority deliveries.

But it's not true. Nothing is available. I've filled in the forms and nothing happens.

Basically you can't get everything you want.

Apart from maybe nappies and baby formula, everything else is a luxury.

If you have food to keep yourself alive, then that is enough until the system resets.

Ok, you might run out of milk, bread, sugar, fruit, whatever. But eat what you have got/can get.

Even if they don't give a shit about the extremely vulnerable group they will undermine the purpose of the lockdown when all the extremely vulnerable give up and go to buy food.

I do wonder if it's just a handy list if who not to ventilate.

I have exhausted all the shops I can get to on foot. There is a Sainsbury's two bus rides away or about a 3.2 mile walk each way.

I can't get on the bus, as mentioned, and a 6.4 mile walk still seems mental with an 18 month old.

I don't believe I've said I'm worse off than anyone, it just seems silly to me that certain groups have been prioritised which means NO ONE else is even allowed a look in (even if they have had to rely on online shopping for years because of their lack of shops or car).

Particularly when lots everyone here has confessed to also being in that category and not being able to get a delivery either. So...where do they go!?

Post edited by MNHQ

Central London here too.

The local Tesco Express is very well stocked so I've been going there. We've had to slightly change what we eat as their range is obviously different to larger supermarkets, but that's not a problem in the scheme of things.

@MangePasTesOnglesVilain have you registered with the government form if you're in the shielded group? They should be able to deliver a food box if so, I believe everywhere in England is, obviously if another part of the UK it might be different.

OP I'll be honest I would be wary of getting on a bus in London at the moment too, but could you just make do with the local shops? Not ideal I know, but random bits and bobs just for now is obviously better than going without. I do agree about the slots a bit, but only around here. There is a fantastic volunteer group here and the council are being great, but they will only help those on the shielded, the elderly or vulnerable (which is understandable); but it means if you are isolating or can't get out for whatever reason you are screwed unless you have friends who can do it. The local shops are only doing it for those groups too as they are so overwhelmed.

Pickle
You're right really. Just eat your way through the cupboards and forget about proper meals.

Although the texts to the extremely vulnerable say 'make sure you eat a healthy well balanced diet with plenty of fresh food...

Like they're actually trying to take the piss

Where abouts in central London? From what I've seen/heard the shops there have better stock than outer zones. I'm in zone 2 & shops are getting back to normal bar certain things. DH even got pasta in a garage yesterday

This is my experience too. I was told Sainsbury's would prioritise those 1.5 million in the highest risk category. But when I logged online that are not taking new customers. Can't get a slot anywhere else. We're ok for now but in a week it's going to be a lot harder.

I wouldn't feel too bad. Youve got a shot at the ventilators if you carch Coronavirus badly. The old and vulnerable haven't.
I know which id rather have priority over

the bigger problem is the disabled people that the government hasn't put on the vulnerable list because they aren't at more risk of complications, but who can't physically get to or manage in the supermarket without assistance that can't be provided because of the lockdown. E.g. if you're blind and live alone you might typically use a guide to go to the supermarket, and most supermarkets will provide a staff member to help you. Or more likely you'll just use online delivery as that will be much simpler and more accessible.Now you can't get a slot because you're not "vulnerable" and going to the shops isn't an option because of social distancing. You could try to wing it with your cane or guide dog, but how are you going to find what you need? You're probably going to have to touch a lot of stuff trying to work out where you are and what things are. How do you keep 2m away from people you can't see? Your guide dog (if you have one) won't be any help with that as they're not trained to give that wide a berth to people.

So many blind people are stuck with no food and despite being told this repeatedly by various charities the government isn't doing anything about it.

So I have zero sympathy for those that are physically able to go to the shops but just prefer an online delivery.

Where in London are you? The buses are empty around me.

and here we go.again.. I want what you have.

I’m finding the logistics of supermarket shopping more stressful than usual. I suppose almost everyone is. There’s much more mental load involved in planning, and getting there and back, and adapting the plan if something on my list is missing from the shelves. And trying to rethink my plans while staying 2 metres away from other shoppers. It’s a massive adjustment. And we just have to do it, because the elderly and vulnerable simply can’t do it without risking their lives.

it just seems retarded to me that certain groups have been prioritised which means NO ONE else is even allowed a look in (even if they have had to rely on online shopping for years because of their lack of shops or car) Many are not been prioritised and catching the virus during the elderly slot
Btw your wording is disgusting, you really have no respect for the vulnerable.
I am reporting this thread as a suspect troll.

Uber is still operating & some drivers are putting in plastic dividers

They AREN'T prioritising the vulnerable. In theory they are prioritising the extremely vulnerable (good) but the ordinary vulnerable people aren't included and that group can include disabled people. They are now fighting for the delivery slots with everyone else.

I went to Tesco at 7am on Friday and there was almost everything I needed.

As I’m pregnant, I’m technically in a vulnerable group but I have a DH who could shop for me. I have a delivery coming on Thursday (been booked for ages and I really hope they don’t cancel it) and a click and collect next week. Can’t book anything else though.

My mum is doing a Tesco delivery for her whole road (she is the youngest and in her late 50s). The closest supermarket to them is a drive away and many of her neighbours are quite elderly now so would be most at risk of serious complications if they caught the virus. Tesco have now limited their online orders to 80 items. She tried to ring and explain she’s doing a community shop but they weren’t able to do anything about that. Rather than have one delivery driver driving to one house with a slightly bigger order, they’d rather several drivers drive to each house with a smaller order. Makes no sense!

*Oreod
*
Yes I did it the first day you could register. I was hoping for Sainsbury's to give me a
slot. Twitter is full of people in the same position. Sainsbury's is replying on Twitter they don't know when they'll get info from government.

It's a shitshow but I won't take it personally.

I'm working 12 hour days, 6 days a week at the moment. Guess what I did on Sunday? Yes. I got up and went and queued at the supermarket, did my shopping, smiled politely at everyone, didn't give anyone a hard time, and then I came home and put the shopping away.

Was it easy? Not hugely. Was it what I wanted to be doing? Not one tiny bit. But these are not normal times. We all have to suck it up and do what ever we can.

Elderly and vulnerable people can’t get delivery slots for love nor money either.

You haven’t said in your OP whether you drive or not, or why delivery is so necessary for you, but you’re going to have to do what everyone else is doing: get to one of the shops that is in the 8 mile radius of your house (sounds like there are quite a few so I’m guessing you’re not extremely rural and therefore there is some sort of transport infrastructure), and do your shopping in person.

For a huge number of people at the moment, it’s hardly ideal, but that’s the reality.

There are 1.5 MILLION people on the shielding list (and I’d lay odds that the list is incomplete) for whom online shopping deliveries are essential, not just ‘really handy’ or a way round extremely complicated life circumstances (although I’ve got some of those myself and have massive sympathy for people in that boat). That’s a huge increase in demand for the supermarkets, and not one that they can quickly or easily scale up for.

Nothing about any of this or easy or convenient or nice or ideal for anyone. Every solution that sorts something for one group means that another group is missed or misses out or are inconvenienced. The whole thing is shit. For everyone. Just in varying degrees.

Unless there’s a huge drip feed coming, then essentially, what you’re going to have to do is, well, being blunt, suck it up and get on with it. Just like everyone else.

a question-has anybody actually managed to get a delivery & how did they do it - by hijacking a delivery vehicle??? (please note to all people in retail I am not complaining about you or your work I just don't get the infrastructure that is suppose to take note of multiple vulnerabilities & prioritizing them - & I tried to ring/send email & got a note back saying I should just book - frustrating - & worrying & today I have to go to the pharmacy (& no they don't do it on line unless you get a form from the gp … )