SUPPORTING OUR LOCAL COMMUNITIES
In some instances, our stores are accommodating local authorities and community organisations with bulk orders from which they can make and distribute food parcels to those in need. Our store managers will do their very best to support these orders, but they are subject to availability and must be collected from the store. If this is something that your local authority is considering and there is a Sainsbury’s store in your area, you should contact them directly.
We are also helping local authorities load pre-paid gift cards, which they can allocate to volunteers. We encourage local authorities to visit www.sainsburysgiftcard.co.uk if they would like to order an E-Gift Card up to the value of £250 and pay by credit card – this will be sent directly to the volunteer. If there is a requirement for large quantities of E-Gift Card’s or Physical Gift Cards an order can be placed with our Sainsburys Business Direct team (www.sainsburysbusinessdirect.co.uk/order).
We are also supporting the free school meal vouchers scheme and have donated £3 million to FareShare, which they will use to distribute donated food to the people who need it most.
In addition, we have extended our partnership with WHSmith to its stores in hospitals, supplying them with groceries to make it easier for NHS workers to get what they need when they need it. We continue to reserve half an hour from 7.30-8am, Monday to Saturday, in all of our supermarkets for NHS and social care workers.
To reduce queuing times both inside and outside our stores we have been extending our opening hours. From Monday, the majority of our supermarkets will be open from 08.00 – 22.00 and we are encouraging customers to visit our stores throughout the day to avoid queues when stores open in the morning.
SUPPORTING VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS
Early in the crisis we prioritised our elderly, disabled and vulnerable customers. We instigated dedicated shopping hours in our stores and were the first supermarket to prioritise elderly and vulnerable customers for online grocery deliveries. We have offered over 725,000 elderly and vulnerable people online deliveries so far. This includes 450,000 who we found using our own data. We are now working through the growing list of people who have registered with their government to say they are vulnerable and require home deliveries.
We are receiving data regularly and have been able to match over 275,000 additional customers in England, Scotland and Wales against our database so far, and we are contacting them to arrange prioritised home delivery. We will be in touch with more customers based on the database we receive from Northern Ireland as soon as we can. We understand that there will still be vulnerable people who may have difficulty accessing a delivery slot and we are doing everything we can to support them. We have rapidly increased our Groceries Online and Click & Collect capacity by redeploying colleagues and employing more pickers and delivery drivers. Soon we will be offering 600,000 slots across home delivery
and Click & Collect each week. However there are millions of elderly, disabled and vulnerable people across the country and even with the new capacity supermarkets cannot meet the demand for home deliveries.
There are however many ways that customers can access support and still shop with us and I wanted to set these out so you can share with those who are in need of support.
1. The UK Government’s and devolved administrations’ extremely vulnerable lists
If they live in England, Scotland or Wales and believe they qualify as an extremely vulnerable person, customers should visit the respective government websites for information on how to receive help:
https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-extremely-vulnerable
https://www.gov.scot/publications/covid-shielding/pages/contacts/
https://gov.wales/get-coronavirus-support-extremely-vulnerable-person
Once an individual on the Government’s list has been matched to our customer database we contact them to confirm this and provide instructions on how they can book a delivery slot. We are prioritising these customers for online delivery slots but we continue to experience incredibly high demand for them. As such, we are advising customers to check as soon as possible after receiving notification from us and to keep checking regularly as slots become available.
We are working with the Northern Ireland Executive on a database of extremely vulnerable people and as soon as we have their details, we will be contacting these customers too.
2. Sainsbury’s customers registered with us as vulnerable
As outlined above, we have identified 450,000 elderly, disabled and vulnerable customers from our own data. These customers will continue to have access to home delivery slots as they become available. Due to the current level of demand we can only offer delivery slots to customers previously registered with us as a vulnerable customer or those who have been identified by the Government as extremely vulnerable.
3. Click & Collect
We are offering alternatives to home deliveries for all our customers, including those that are more vulnerable. For example, we have set up new Click & Collect grocery operations in an additional 128 stores, providing our customers with a quick and efficient way to collect their shopping with minimal interaction. If this is a service your constituents would be interested in we would advise them to regularly check their Sainsbury’s account for available slots.
4. Friends, family & volunteers
We know many elderly, disabled and vulnerable people who need to self-isolate are relying on the support of family, friends and local communities to shop on their behalf and we actively encourage this.
To that end, we have lifted restrictions on a wide range of products and we have introduced a new Sainsbury’s Volunteer Shopping Card. This card enables friends and helpers to shop on behalf of someone else. Customers can visit our dedicated webpage (www.sainsburysgiftcard.co.uk) and select how much they would like to spend up to a limit of £250. The E-Gift card will then be emailed directly to the person shopping on their behalf, which can be redeemed at checkout in store.
The NHS’s Volunteer Responders Scheme also has volunteers on hand to collect shopping for people who need to stay at home. You can find more information about this here: www.royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk.
5. Priority shopping hours
For those who are able to go to shops, we are still dedicating between the hours of 8am and 9am every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to serving elderly, vulnerable, disabled customers and their carers.
SUPPORTING COMIC RELIEF AND CHILDREN IN NEED
We are proud of the work we have done with Comic Relief, raising £130 million over 21 years. Now we are partnering with Comic Relief to help support people across the UK who have been severely affected by coronavirus as part of the BBC’s Big Night In, which took place last week. The appeal, which brings together Comic Relief and BBC Children in Need, raises money for people of all ages and backgrounds across the UK.
We are supporting the appeal by matching customer donations in store and online to support the communities we serve.
I am delighted to inform you that together with our customers we have raised over £1.5 million in just two weeks, which matched by Sainsbury’s brings the total raised so far to £3,112,056.
SUPPORTING THE HOMELESS
In light of the coronavirus, The Big Issue, a magazine sold by the UK’s most vulnerable people to lift themselves out of poverty, recently had to take the decision to protect its network of vendors by asking that they stop selling on streets for the foreseeable future.
To support the magazine and its vendors, we have made The Big Issue available for sale online, in 229 Sainsbury’s supermarkets and at all Sainsbury’s convenience stores. We are delighted to share that 50% of net proceeds will go to vendors who need help and 50% will go towards helping The Big Issue continue its work with vendors now and in the future.
An FAQ is provided below, setting out further information.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Grocery deliveries and support for vulnerable people
What are you doing to help customers who are clinically vulnerable and having to shield indoors?
- Governments in England, Scotland and Wales have given us lists of the most clinically vulnerable people in need of home deliveries. These lists have been shared among the major supermarkets and we are prioritising the people on them for online grocery deliveries.
- Sainsbury’s has retrieved over 275,000 additional customers for online deliveries from these lists. We are now contacting them to arrange slots. We are working with the Northern Ireland Executive on a database of extremely vulnerable people and as soon as we have their details, we will be contacting these customers too.
What about instances where you’ve reached out to shielded customers but they’ve still not been able to book online deliveries with you?
- Once an individual on a government list has been matched to us, we are providing them with instructions on how they can book a delivery slot. Once they have received a notification from us they can log in to their account and see which delivery slots are available.
- We contact people at times when there is a high chance of them being able to book a delivery slot in their local area. These shielded people are being treated as a priority. However, we are still experiencing incredibly high demand and therefore advising customers to check as soon as possible after receiving their notification. If they cannot book a delivery slot immediately, they should keep checking regularly as slots become available.
What about other elderly, disabled or vulnerable people who didn’t get on any government lists? What are you doing to help them receive home deliveries?
- Early in the crisis, before any government lists were issued, Sainsbury’s managed to locate and prioritise elderly, disabled and vulnerable customers using our own data. We were the first supermarket to do this. As such, we have been able to reach out to 450,000 vulnerable customers and offer them online deliveries, in addition to those on the government lists.
- Due to the current level of demand, we can only offer delivery slots to customers previously registered with us as vulnerable or those who have been identified on a government list as being extremely vulnerable.
- There are millions of elderly and vulnerable people across the country and supermarkets cannot by themselves meet the demand out there for home deliveries. We are encouraging communities to work together to help those in need and doing our best to make other options available. A number of options are provided below.
If not home deliveries, what are the options for vulnerable, disabled or elderly people who need groceries?
- • We know many elderly, disabled and vulnerable people who need to self-isolate are relying on the kindness of family, friends and local communities to shop on their behalf and we actively encourage this. To that end, we have lifted buying restrictions on thousands of products in order to make it easier for our customers to shop for others.
- We encourage volunteers to buy food on behalf of vulnerable people. We have launched a volunteer shopping card to support this. Customers need to go online and buy a voucher which they send to the person doing the shopping for them (cash-free process). They need to visit sainsburysgiftcard.co.uk and enter the email address of the person who will be shopping on their behalf.
- Priority shopping hours: every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, all our supermarkets are dedicating between 08.00 and 09.00 to serving elderly customers, disabled customers and carers.
- We may be able to accommodate some orders from local authorities and charities wanting to procure food on behalf of and then distribute to vulnerable people in their communities. This will be on a case by case basis. It is subject to the resource available at these stores. It is also subject to local groups being able to collect the stock from their local store and pay for it there. People should refer to their local Sainsbury’s supermarket for availability.
How are you flexing your policies to support vulnerable people shopping in store?
- We make exceptions to our one adult per shop policy where adult customers need to be accompanied by a carer and we also allow lone parents to take their children in. The policy is not a blanket ban of multiple adults shopping together but rather it is simply a guide to support social distancing regulations and improve customer queuing times.
- Due to social distancing regulations, we can no longer carry out assisted shops. However, if a customer attends with a shopping list, colleagues will do what they can to get the customer’s desired items and meet them at the checkout to pay for their shopping.
Helping communities and NHS workers
What is Sainsbury’s doing to support food banks and communities in need?
- In response to coronavirus, Sainsbury’s has donated £3 million to FareShare. They will use this money to distribute food to the people who need it the most. People should contact their regional FareShare centre for more information.
- We have partnered with Comic Relief, as part of the BBC’s Big Night in Appeal, to help support people in the UK severely affected by coronavirus. We will match whatever our customers donate to this cause between Thursday 9th April and Friday 1st May.
- We may be able to accommodate some orders from local authorities and charities wanting to procure food on behalf of and then distribute to vulnerable people in their communities. This will be on a case by case basis. It is subject to the resource available at these stores. It is also subject to local groups being able to collect the stock from their local store and pay for it there. People should refer to their local Sainsbury’s supermarket for availability.
- The Big Issue, a magazine sold by the UK’s most vulnerable people to lift themselves out of poverty, recently took the decision to protect its network of vendors by asking that they stop selling on the streets.
- To help them, we are now selling the magazine online, in 229 Sainsbury’s supermarkets and all our convenience stores. 50% of net proceeds will go to vendors who need help and 50% will go towards helping The Big Issue continue its work.
What are you doing to help NHS workers who are short on time and don’t want to queue for groceries?
- We have signed an agreement with WH Smiths to stock a range of over 90 essential Sainsbury’s grocery items in 80 of their hospital outlets, ensuring that NHS workers have better access to groceries during the coronavirus pandemic. The essentials include toilet roll, pasta and long-life food products.
- We are offering priority shopping to all the hard-working NHS staff across the country who are doing such a great job to protect the nation. NHS and social care workers are able to shop in our supermarkets for half an hour before they open, from Monday to Saturday.
Safety in stores and supporting Sainsbury’s colleagues
What is your policy on pay for colleagues who are having to self-isolate?
- Our colleagues will receive 12 weeks of full pay if they need to self-isolate. This applies to colleagues who are over the age of 70, pregnant or if they have an underlying health condition. This also applies to colleagues who live with extremely vulnerable family members who the government has asked to self-isolate for 12 weeks.
Are you doing anything else to recognise your store colleagues’ extraordinary effort during this crisis?
- Our store, depot and customer service colleagues have shown extraordinary dedication and played a massive part in helping to feed the nation through this crisis. As a thank you for their efforts, we will be giving colleagues a 10% bonus payment on the hours they have worked during this crisis.
What are you doing to ensure the safety of colleagues and customers throughout the coronavirus crisis?
- Our number one priority is the safety of colleagues and customers. Strict social distancing measures have been implemented in our stores and distribution centres. Measures include: • Limiting the number of customers in our stores, implementing queuing systems outside stores and laying down floor markings and signage to ensure people maintain a safe distance of two metres apart.
- Installation of safety screens at checkouts, providing hand sanitiser, making masks and gloves available for colleagues who want them and arranging additional cleaning of equipment.
Ongoing supply of food and essentials
Are you rationing certain products in order to ensure that everyone has access to essentials?
- We have now lifted buying restrictions on thousands of products and hope that this will make it easier for customers to shop for others. Customers should feel confident about shopping in our stores at any time of the day and being able to find the majority of what they need.
- We are keeping limits on the most popular items for now, including pasta, UHT milk, antibacterial products and some tinned and frozen foods.
Is there enough food in the system?
- We have now lifted buying restrictions on thousands of products and hope that this will help customers to shop for others. Stock levels across our estate are now much better. People are queuing to get into our stores when they open in the mornings, but customers now find they can shop at any time of the day and feel confident about finding most of what they need.
Helping to support small businesses/suppliers
What are you doing to help small suppliers in my area?
- We have committed to pay small suppliers immediately. Nearly 1,500 small businesses who have less than £100,000 annual turnover with us will benefit.
- We are also committed to working collaboratively with suppliers to support them with cash flow where needed. We are encouraging suppliers that find themselves in distress to contact us to discuss criteria for support via our Supplier Support team at together.with@sainsburys.co.uk or their regular Sainsbury’s contact.
- Sainsbury’s is offering all tenants and concession partners one month rent free plus the opportunity to pay rent on a monthly basis as opposed to quarterly in advance. This will help them manage their cash flow.