The supermarket chain has announced it will be unable to fulfil a pledge made earlier this week to create the packs to allow elderly Australians to buy supplies.
In a statement, Woolworths said: “Unfortunately, due to the continued high demand, stock availability in our stores, and to avoid any disappointment, this is something that we will not be able to fulfil at this time.”
Both Woolworths and Coles had introduced special shopping hours this week for elderly and disabled Australians to stock up between 7am and 8am before stores opened, but a number of shoppers were left disappointed after essentials such as toilet paper were still sold out.
There is some good news. Woolworths has begun working with Meals on Wheels in NSW via their network of volunteers to help deliver toilet paper directly to the elderly in the community (pictured above) and plan to expand to the other states in the coming weeks.
There are also other things we can do to help. If you have elderly neighbours, let them know that you can pick up some groceries for them via a note in their letterbox (to maintain a social distance of 1.5 metres).
You can also drop off supplies to elderly family and friends at their door – or just give them a call to check in on them.
We like the line that is currently doing the rounds on social media: our older generation was called to go to war – we are only being called to stay at home.
Let’s do our best to ensure we all stay safe.
