“Absolutely disgusted”: Why shoppers are outraged over Woolies Christmas charity request
An outraged shopper has called out Woolworths for asking struggling Aussies to donate to a Christmas charity appeal, despite raking in record-breaking profits.
The Woolies shopper snapped a photo of a donation trolley in one of the supermarkets, asking shoppers to donate food to OzHarvest ahead of the festive season.
The supermarket, who recorded profits of $1.62 billion in the last financial year, have long been accused of price gouging in the face of the ongoing cost of living crisis.
As a result, the angry shopper said the supermarket giant "needs a stern talking to", saying the company should "be forced to donate themselves" as many shoppers are "struggling to put food on the table".
“We are in one of the worst cost-of-living crises in Australian history, and Woolworths, a multi-billion dollar company, is currently being accused of price hiking during the crisis", the shopper recently fumed on social media.
"But they have the audacity to ask us to donate to those suffering from the cost-of-living crisis, instead of lowering their prices to be affordable or donating themselves."
The shopper admitted to wanting to help those in need, but shared they were one of millions of Aussies who had to rethink the way they approached their Christmas shopping as soaring grocery prices continue hurting household budgets.
"I'm absolutely disgusted that they are asking us to buy stuff from their store and donate it instead when they have the audacity to charge $7 for 2kg of potatoes or $7.50 for 4kg of potatoes," the shopper continued in the post on Reddit.
Despite many people sympathising with the shopper’s post, one commenter pointed out that Woolworths has vowed to match all donations from the public to OzHarvest.
"Until the 26th December, Woolworths will match your donations to OzHarvest to help provide even more meals to people who need it most this Christmas," it says. "Every 50 cents donated supports OzHarvest to deliver the equivalent of one nutritious meal from our surplus fresh food.”
"These funds support the cost of drivers, vans, warehouses, fridges, freezers and more. All helping to ensure that as much fresh, healthy surplus food can get to as many Australians in need of food relief as possible".
Image credits: Getty Images / Reddit