Iceland is giving away free food vouchers worth up to £30 – how to claim

TENS of thousands of pensioners can get free vouchers to spend in a major supermarket worth £30.

Iceland has teamed up with the Rothesay Foundation, which seeks to improve quality of life for older people, to launch its “Summer Cheer” campaign.

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It will see 40,000 pension-age people living independently, or with a carer, who rely solely on state pension and benefits offered a £30 voucher for food and other essentials.

The campaign will run until September 16 and the vouchers can be spent in any of 269 Iceland stores in 16 areas across the country.

The stores where the vouchers are redeemable were chosen as they are in areas where with pensioner living in deprivation.

It follows a similar pilot campaign run by Iceland in the London borough of Lambeth last December which helped older people on lower incomes to a free £30 voucher to spend in nine of its stores.

Richard Walker, managing director of Iceland Foods, said: “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.”

It’s not the first time Iceland has helped older people who might be struggling with their household bills.

In May, it launched a weekly over 60’s 10% discount across all its stores every Tuesday.

If you qualify for the £30 voucher through the Summer Cheer campaign, you can also use the over 60’s discount on top, provided it’s a Tuesday.

The 10% discount is applicable across all Iceland stores and obviously you have to be over 60 to be eligible.

Eligible customers will have to provide proof of age such as a driving license, senior bus pass, senior rail card or Freedom Pass when paying for their goods at the checkout.

The discount will work across all products in store and you get 10% off the total cost of your shop.

Addy Loudiadis, chief executive officer of the Rothesay Foundation, added: “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 do I claim the voucher and where will they be eligible?

To claim the voucher, you first must be of pension-age people living independently, or with a carer, and relying solely on state pension and benefits.

If this is you, you can call the Summer Cheer hotline, which is 0800 098 7877 to request a voucher.

The telephone line will be open from 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday.

The areas where the vouchers will be made available to eligible pensioners include:

• Glasgow
• Strathclyde
• Greater Manchester
• Liverpool
• Wirral
• Newcastle North
• Sunderland
• Huddersfield/Barnsley
• Sheffiled
• Birmingham
• West Midlands
• Glamorgan
• Newport
• North Wales
• Lambeth
• Croydon

To find out if your local Iceland store accepts the vouchers, you can use Iceland’s store locator and put your postcode into the search bar.

What other help is available to me if I’m a pensioner?

In addition to the Iceland vouchers, there’s other help on offer if you’re a pensioner and you’re struggling to make ends meet.

The government announced a raft of measures back in May this year for struggling households.

Among the support specifically for pensioners is the £650 cost of living payment, but you will only receive this if you 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 in the autumn, although a specific date has not yet been confirmed.

Either in November or December, a £300 one-off Pensioner Cost of Living payment will be dished out to eight million people who already receive the Winter Fuel Payment as well.

The Winter Fuel Payment is usually worth between £100 and £300 and those over the state pension age receive it.

The Household Support Fund (HSF) is another option for older people.

The initiative was set up by the government to offer targeted support to households in need.

There is a central pot of money which is then allocated to councils, who then decide how to divvy it out to residents.

For example, Coventry City Council was offering £36 supermarket vouchers to residents receiving Council Tax Support and those exempt from paying Council Tax.

The current batch of funding from the government is available to councils until September 30.

If you think you might be eligible for help, you should contact your local council.

If you don’t know what your council is, you can use the government’s locator tool.

If you are worried about the cost of living or debt, then a number of charities may also be able to offer free advice or help:

• National Debtline – 0808 808 4000
• Step Change – 0800 138 1111
• Citizens Advice – 0808 800 9060