‘We know that this winter is set to be incredibly hard’
Asda has launched a £1 in-store cafe meal deal for people over 60 to help some of their most vulnerable customers keep warm this winter during the energy and cost of living crisis.
The supermarket decided to launch this ‘winter warmer’ initiative after the ‘Income Trackers’ showed that customers aged 65 to 74 suffered a £163 drop in disposable income in August, compared to 2021.
The meal is available throughout November and December in any of the supermarket chain’s 205 cafes.
The meal deal includes soup, a bread roll and unlimited tea or coffee.
Mohsin Issa, Asda’s co-owner, said: “We know that this winter is set to be incredibly hard for thousands of pensioners as they worry about how to keep themselves warm in the face of rising living costs and a fixed income.”
The supermarket hopes that this offer will be “as impactful” as its Kids Eat For £1 initiative, where more than half a million discount meals were served.
Asda has also ring fenced £500,000 in funding, available in grants of up to £2,000 for individual community groups who are helping people through the cost-of-living crisis.
This comes as the UK faces a brutal winter of fuel crises, where many elderly people will be unable to afford the costs of heating heat their homes.
Age UK estimates that 2.8 million older households will remain in fuel poverty this winter despite the energy price cap being frozen at a maximum of £2,500.
This backs similar research from the charity in May 2022 that warned two million pensioners wouldn’t have enough money to cover their essential spending over the next year.
The National Grid is calling on households to use energy at off-peak times to help prevent blackouts this winter.
This comes after an estimated 3,271 people were killed in England and Wales during the record-breaking summer heatwaves where temperatures spiked over 40C.
UK Health Security Agency and Office for National Statistics analysis released on Friday shows the average number of deaths above a five-year average. This represents a 6.2 per cent increase and does not exclude deaths from covid, the Mirror reported.
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