Priority supermarket deliveries announced for blind shoppers amid social distancing concerns

Blind and partially sighted people across England who have struggled to buy food since the lockdown are now able to access priority online shopping slots following campaigning by sight loss charities.

Changes to supermarket layouts, social distancing and limitations on online delivery slots have made it nearly impossible for blind and partially sighted people to shop without support. As a result, just half of blind and partially sighted people who shopped independently before lockdown are still doing so, according to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB). Because of this, one in five (21 per cent) are also being forced to ration food.

Following months of campaigning by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), Guide Dogs, Thomas Pocklington Trust and Visionary – including the submission of a petition with over 22,000 signatures – the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have recognised the specific challenges faced by people with sight loss. As a result, Defra has secured online shopping slots aimed at people who cannot safely leave their home and have no social network to support them from a number of major supermarkets.

David Clarke, Director of Services at RNIB, said: “Blind and partially sighted people have been facing specific and unique challenges that have had an enormous impact on everyday independence. Our helpline has received thousands of calls from people worried about access to food and many are having to rely on the goodwill of strangers to get the essentials they needed. These new slots represent a first step in what, for many blind and partially sighted people, will be a long road to regaining their full independence, enabling them to buy what they want, when they want without support from others.”

The priority shopping slots are now available through referral via RNIB’s Helpline and are intended for blind and partial sighted people who are unable to access food and have no local family or friends who can help them shop.

Elizabeth Manuel, a former district judge from Portsmouth, was forced to ration a week's worth of food over several weeks after she was unable to get a supermarket slot online. Ms Manuel, who is partially sighted after suffering a brain haemorrhage when she was 47, self-isolated for 12 weeks from the start of lockdown and is still forced to rely on her neighbour to shop for her. She said: “For weeks after lockdown, I went online every day trying to get a shopping slot. I wrote to the main supermarkets and my MP to ask for help from the Council but that didn’t result in any food or support either. My anxiety levels were very high, particularly when I got home having been hospitalised with Covid and still had no delivery slot. 

“I began to ration food as I didn’t want to overburden my amazing neighbour who has been in helping me throughout and put them at further risk from the virus.

"This is 2020 and the fact that disabled people have been worried about having the most basic necessity is shocking! RNIB have provided support throughout and with their help at last the real difficulties faced by blind and partially sighted people have been properly recognised by the Government. This is a real relief for me and for others with sight loss.”

Blanche Shackleton, Head of Public Affairs, Campaigns and Influencing at Guide Dogs, said: “People with sight loss faced a double whammy of being unable to observe social distancing in supermarkets, while also being excluded from priority online delivery slots. Many were telling us they were really worried about how they were going to buy food at all. This is why we worked alongside people with sight loss, our partner organisations and members of the public to achieve this vitally important result.”

Charles Colquhoun, Chief Executive of Thomas Pocklington Trust, said: “We have been working in partnership with organisations across the sight loss sector to lobby Government on this issue since the start of the pandemic.  It is good news these shopping slots have been ringfenced for blind and partially sighted people who have found it difficult to get food. It will support people who have had to rely on strangers and volunteers to be able to shop independently again.”

Fiona Sandford, CEO of Visionary, said: “Visionary are delighted with the outcome of this campaign. Since the start of this pandemic, local sight loss organisations have every day been speaking to people struggling to get access to food and shopping. They have put considerable efforts into helping people access food, often providing practical support to make this happen. Knowing that there is now guaranteed access to priority shopping slots for blind and partially sighted people will make a huge difference to people who want to return to living independent lives and offer additional assistance to the organisations who support them.”

As well as work with DEFRA, RNIB has been working closely with supermarkets across the country, providing guidance to help them support blind and partially sighted customers in the current environment. RNIB has also worked with wholesalers, Brakes, to set up an accessible ordering system of their goods in areas close to their delivery depots. The programme is currently trialling in Hertfordshire and Essex and is set to roll out across all Brakes’ delivery areas in England from 22 June.

For more information about the support available, including the new priority online shopping slots for people with sight loss visit rnib.org.uk. People who are eligible can access this new support via RNIB’s Helpline on 0303 123 9999, from 8am-8pm on weekdays and 9am-5pm on Saturdays.

ENDS

Notes to editors

Image available for Elizabeth Manuel

For media enquiries, contact RNIB’s PR team on 0207 391 2223 or [email protected]. For urgent enquiries out-of-hours, please call 07968 482812.

About RNIB

We are the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).

Every six minutes, someone in the UK begins to lose their sight. RNIB is taking a stand against exclusion, inequality and isolation to create a world without barriers where people with sight loss can lead full lives. A different world where society values blind and partially sighted people not for the disabilities they’ve overcome, but for the people they are.

RNIB. See differently.

Call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or visit www.rnib.org.uk

About Guide Dogs 

Guide Dogs is here to help the two million people living with sight loss live the life they choose. Children and adults. Friends and family. Our expert staff, volunteers and life-changing dogs are here to help people affected by sight loss live actively, independently and well. Founded in 1934, we are a charity that is almost entirely dependent on donations. Find out more at www.guidedogs.org.uk.

About Thomas Pocklington Trust

Thomas Pocklington Trust is a national charity dedicated to enabling and empowering blind and partially sighted people of all ages to live the life they want to lead. We are committed to increasing awareness and understanding of their needs and aspirations, to working with partners and to developing and implementing services which meet these needs to increase independence and improve lives. www.pocklington-trust.org.uk

About Visionary

Visionary is the membership organisation for local sight loss charities. Currently, over 120 local sight loss organisations are members of Visionary, between them supporting over 210,000 people with sight loss across the UK. Visionary supports local sight loss organisations to be the best that they can be. We connect them with each other, develop their skills and organisational health and share information, challenges and best practice from across our network.