Iceland’s managing director has revealed the grocer is losing customers to food banks, as he responds to food inflation rates reaching its highest levels in 30 years.
Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Iceland’s managing director Richard Walker, defended inflation rates, following a series of tweets made by British food writer and anti-poverty campaigner, Jack Monroe, dissecting the price rises of some of the supermarkets’ cheaper items, last year to now.
Monroe said: “Woke up this morning to the radio talking about the cost of living rising a further 5%. It infuriates me the index that they use for this calculation, which grossly underestimates the real cost of inflation as it happens to people with the least. Allow me to briefly explain.”
Woke up this morning to the radio talking about the cost of living rising a further 5%. It infuriates me the index that they use for this calculation, which grossly underestimates the real cost of inflation as it happens to people with the least. Allow me to briefly explain.
— jack monroe (@BootstrapCook) January 19, 2022
Monroe said they were “infuriated” and that the “5%” figure commonly cited as the food inflation rate “grossly underestimates the real cost of inflation as it happens to people with the least”.
However, Walker, who appeared alongside Monroe revealed that Iceland has started losing customers to food banks as a result of rising food costs.
READ MORE: Iceland launches ‘ethical loans’ to help vulnerable customers
“We’re absolutely seeing it,” Walker said.
“Every supermarket is seeing price rises on staples, not on champagne or legs of lamb but things like milk, bread and bacon”
Earlier this week, Iceland pledged to freeze the price of its £1 value range in a bid to help ease the pressure of rising living costs.
Walker continued: “We’re starting to lose some customers to food banks or, not being overly dramatic, to hunger”.
However, viewers took to social media to slam the Iceland boss for being “out of touch” with reality.
One viewer said: “If Richard Walker know that families are literally living on £25 per why did he put the shopping free delivery up to £40 from £25”
If Richard Walker know that families are literally living on £25 per why did he put the shopping free delivery's up to £40 from £25 please ask him @benshephard #GMB
— 💙❌🆂🅲🆄🅻🅻🆈 ❌💙 (@carol90783713) January 21, 2022
Another added: “Richard Walker, MD of Iceland, is contributing to the debate on food bank usage from – wait for it – his second home in Majorca! Oh the irony!”
Richard Walker, MD of Iceland, is contributing to the debate on food bank usage from – wait for it – his second home in Majorca! Oh the irony! @GMB
— Plane Pimp (@planepimp) January 21, 2022
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