Activists from the civil resistance group Take Back Power staged coordinated actions at supermarkets across the UK on Saturday, removing food from shelves to distribute to those in need. The group targeted Sainsbury's and Morrisons stores in Exeter, Truro, London, and Manchester.
In London, at the Sainsbury's in the Lewisham Centre, activists loaded trolleys with non-perishable goods such as pasta and canned items at around 9am. They then set up a stall outside the supermarket to hand the food directly to local residents. The group said security arrived by 9.40am and police at 9.50am, with no arrests made before they left at approximately 10am.
The Metropolitan Police said officers were reviewing CCTV after staff reported that a member of the group subsequently paid for the items. However, Take Back Power denied this, arguing that because the stall was technically still on supermarket property, no crime was committed as none of the produce left the site.
The group said all the food "liberated" in London was delivered to food bank donation points. Daniel, a 33-year-old market gardener and father of two, said politicians were choosing to neglect children for the sake of corporate profits, citing over 4 million children in poverty.
Take Back Power, which launched in the wake of Just Stop Oil, is demanding the government establish a "House of the People" – a permanent citizen-led assembly with the power to tax extreme wealth. A spokesperson said it was "sickening" that 6.5 million people turn to food banks each year, adding that billionaires hoarding wealth while ordinary people suffer required urgent action.
