We're Not Buying It: Why thousands of people are threatening to boycott supermarkets for one day

Thousands of people have pledged to boycott supermarkets on Wednesday (28 October) in protest at high food prices. 

We’re Not Buying It, a grassroots campaign group which has built huge traction on social media, is urging people to avoid buying from major supermarkets for one day. 

With the boycott planned for the day of the chancellor’s autumn budget, it wants to see the government introduce a food price cap on essential food items to stop prices rising at a rate millions of people are unable to afford.

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Johanna Grace, a volunteer for We’re Not Buying It, says: “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.”

Grace says she has been most affected by young mothers, of a similar age to her in their 20s, who are going to the food bank and taking on multiple jobs to feed their families.

The queue for the food bank can sometimes stretch round the building, and it is getting “bigger and bigger as time goes on”.

“You see elderly people queuing for an hour in the freezing cold winter because it’s the only good they can access,” Grace says.

“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.”

Grace explains that We’re Not Buying It started online, with a group of young people coming together to take a stand against the high cost of living at a time when their generation is also facing high levels of unemployment.

It feels reminiscent of previous campaigns such as Don’t Pay UK, which urged people to boycott paying their energy bills during the height of the cost of living crisis.

That was similarly a grassroots campaign which built momentum through social media.

But while Don’t Pay UK came with the dangers of debt, We’re Not Buying It has no risks for people – as long they remember to do their weekly shop beforehand. 

And if you have forgotten to get your food, We’re Not Buying It suggests people could shop local instead of relying on the larger chain supermarkets.

Grace adds: “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.  

“Go round to your neighbour and ask them for sugar instead of Tesco Express. We need to tap back into that sense of community. There are more food banks than McDonald’s and we don’t have to accept that. We can come together and say no to corporations.  

“This is a low-stakes way of taking a stand and showing solidarity with people that are living in poverty, even if that’s not yourself.”

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