Thousands of people have pledged a supermarket boycott on Wednesday, 28 October, and the campaign wants a government food price cap on essential food items. Johanna Grace, a volunteer for We're Not Buying It, said the action is aimed at high food prices and timed for the day of the chancellor’s autumn budget.
Johanna Grace and We're Not Buying It
Grace said she had used food banks for the last five years or so and that the experience pushed her into the campaign. “It’s something that I’m passionate about, having used food banks for the last five years or so and seeing what it’s like in these places and families using them and vulnerable people.”
She also described queues that can stretch round the building and keep getting longer. “You see elderly people queuing for an hour in the freezing cold winter because it’s the only good they can access.”
What the boycott asks shoppers to do
We're Not Buying It is asking people to avoid buying from major supermarkets for one day. The group says the plan carries no risks for people if they remember to do their weekly shop beforehand, and it says shoppers who forget can buy local instead of relying on larger chain supermarkets.
The campaign began online with a group of young people coming together to take a stand against the high cost of living. It wants pressure to build around food prices that many people cannot afford, using the boycott day to push the government toward a food price cap rather than a broader protest campaign.
On Wednesday, 28 October
Grace said she wants the government to act on a problem she sees every day. “I just wanted to make a difference and get the government to do something and stop letting people in our communities shoulder the responsibility of having to feed each other when something as simple as a price cap can be implemented on budget day and it can make a huge difference to people on the poverty line.”
She also said the campaign is about community responsibility. “We’re all inherently people and human beings care about each other. We’ve been conditioned to just think about ourselves. We need to tap back into that feeling and sense of community and protecting each other.”
The immediate question is how many of the thousands who have pledged will actually stay away from supermarkets on Wednesday. The campaign has made the instruction simple: shop first, then skip the major chains for one day.
