Supermarket giant helps older people

Staff and residents from Anchor’s St Paul’s Court, in Prudhoe Street, welcomed the supermarket chain’s support of the national Standing Up 4 Sitting Down (su4sd) campaign.

More than 600 Sainsbury’s stores have joined the initiative which is calling for retailers to maintain the amount of seating available in-store so that older and disabled people, pregnant women or anyone who needs to can rest mid-shop.

Anchor launched the campaign after research found that 66 per cent of over 70s around the country believed that the lack of seating in shopping areas is a problem.

Shoppers visiting Sainsbury’s in Willowburn Avenue, which will be displaying the su4sd sticker, are being encouraged to use the seating by the tills.

Joan Brown, manager of St Paul’s Court, said: “It is great that 600 Sainsbury’s branches across the country, including the one in Alnwick, will support the Standing Up 4 Sitting Down campaign.

“Older people are often cut off from the online world, so it’s crucial we enable them to connect in other ways.

“Anchor’s campaign calls for change that benefits everyone. For shops, providing seating is a great opportunity to boost footfall and spending.

“For older people, it offers the opportunity for important social contact to tackle loneliness, encourages physical exercise, and allows a generation the chance to live later life to its fullest.”

Joan Brown said that if any other retailers wanted to join the campaign, pledging to maintain the number of seats they have available for shoppers to use, they can contact the su4sd team at [email protected]