Jasmine Birtles
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Iceland Food Vouchers – 40,000 people receive £30 in Food Aid
Vicky Parry
8th Aug 2022
Iceland Food Vouchers. Iceland has teamed up with the Rothesay Foundation to launch its “Summer Cheer” campaign, which will help 40,000 pension-age people (either living independently or with a carer) with a £30 voucher to help with food and other essentials, if they are reliant on a state pension.
The campaign starts on 16 September and the vouchers can be used in any of 269 Iceland stores in 16 areas across the country: tied in with areas that have many pensioners living in deprivation.
Richard Walker, MD of Iceland Foods, says, “Since the launch of the partnership last Christmas, the cost-of-living crisis has taken hold of the UK, and now more than ever, people are struggling to access the food they need. No-one should ever have to worry about how they are going to eat or drink, and we hope that the support we can offer across the UK will help pensioners access and enjoy a worry-free meal during this difficult time.”
If you are entitled to the £30 voucher through the Summer Cheer campaign, you can also add the over 60s 10% discount on top of that, every Tuesday.
ID will be required to claim, such as a driving license, senior bus pass, senior rail card or Freedom Pass at the checkout.
Addy Loudiadis, chief executive officer of the Rothesay Foundation, says, “We hope our vouchers will provide a small amount of relief to the growing number of older people living in real financial difficulty in the UK. Going forward, we are committed to working with brilliant partners like Iceland and Age UK to help as many pensioners as possible get access to their full benefit allowances.”
How to claim iceland food vouchers
You’ll need to be of pension-age, living independently or with a carer, and be relying on state pension and benefits as your sole income. If you qualify, you can call the Summer Cheer hotline on 0800 098 7877 (9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday) to request a voucher, which will be posted to you if you are in one of these areas:
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Strathclyde
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Glasgow
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Greater Manchester
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Liverpool
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Wirral
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Newcastle North
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Sunderland
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Huddersfield/Barnsley
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Sheffiled
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Birmingham
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West Midlands
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Glamorgan
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Newport
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North Wales
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Lambeth
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Croydon
If you’re unsure whether your local store accepts the vouchers, Iceland’s store locator searches by postcode.
OTHER HELP AVAILABLE
Iceland are also offering £75 loans to pay for food here.
If you’re a pensioner and you find yourself struggling to make ends meet, the government has also announced various schemes for struggling households:
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A £650 cost of living payment, only if you already receive Pension Credit. The payment is being split into two and you should have received the first instalment already. The next one is due to be paid on as-yet unconfirmed date in the autumn.
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In November or December, a £300 one-off Pensioner Cost of Living payment is to be provided to those who already qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment. This is normally between £100 and £300 for those over the state pension age.
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The Household Support Fund (HSF) is another option for older people, from money allocated to councils, who handle each area differently, including the provision of supermarket vouchers to residents in receipt of Council Tax Support and those exempt from paying Council Tax.
30 September is the cut-off for application of any of the above. If you think you might be eligible for any of those pots of money, contact your local council and if you don’t know what your council is, try the government’s locator tool.
There are also some supermarkets offering helping schemes to households in need:
Asda has extended its “Kids eat for £1” scheme, and children can still eat free at Morrisons cafes when parents buy an adult meal at a costs of £4.99 or more. And finally, Sainsburys are continuing their “feed your family for a fiver” campaign, which has a number of cheap meal ideas.
The following charities are also set up to offer free advice and help:
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National Debtline – 0808 808 4000
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Step Change – 0800 138 1111
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Citizens Advice – 0808 800 9060
Check out our exclusive voucher page to find discounts and savings on other essentials.
East Mids! Will we have the offer later? Please.
We will update when new regions are announced. People everywhere need this.