Iceland to dish out free bags of frozen veg to families on Universal Credit – here’s how to get them
FAMILIES on certain benefits, including Universal Credit, will be given free bags of frozen veg at Iceland from next week.
The freebies will be handed out to claimants of the weekly “Healthy Start” vouchers, worth £3.10, which help with the cost of fruit, veg and milk.
Starting from September 11, Iceland will dish out one free veg pack per week to Healthy Start claimants, effectively pushing up the value of the voucher to £4.10.
The supermarket told The Sun the trial is running until the end of the year, but there’s no limit on the number of times you can take advantage of the offer until then.
Customers simply need to bring their vouchers into their nearest Iceland store and the free veg will be honoured at the till point. You will, however, need to spend the entire voucher at Iceland to benefit from the freebie.
There’ll be a whopping 26 different packs up for grabs, ranging from carrots and corn to broccoli and spinach.
Am I eligible for the Healthy Start scheme?
YOU must be at least ten weeks pregnant or have a child under four years old to be eligible for the scheme - but both mums or dads can sign up.
You must also receive one of the following benefits:
- Income support
- Income-based jobseeker’s allowance
- Child tax credit with a family income of £16,190 or less per year
- Pension credit
- Universal Credit with a total earned income of £408 or less per month for the family
You also qualify if you are under 18 and pregnant, even if you don’t get any of the above benefits.
We explain how to apply below.
The frozen veg is being dished out as part of a campaign against food poverty by footballer Marcus Rashford.
The Manchester United striker was successful in campaigning for free school meal vouchers to be provided to pupils over the summer period.
But he has now teamed up with Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Deliveroo, FareShare, Food Foundation, Iceland, Kellogg’s, Lidl, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose, to form the “Child Food Poverty Task Force” carrying on this work.
The task force is calling for an increase in the value of the Healthy Start vouchers from £3.10 per week to £4.25.
Mr Rashford said: “My hope on forming the Child Food Poverty Task Force was that it would ignite conversation relating to the issue – why is this happening? How is this happening? And, are we really doing everything we can to help?
“Iceland’s new initiative grew out of that conversation and it really shows how the simplest step can have impact.”
Richard Walker, managing director of Iceland Foods, added: “We are proud to stand alongside Marcus Rashford as he continues this vital campaign, and we understand the pressing need to help from our interactions with millions of customers each week.”
How to apply for the Healthy Start scheme
You must be at least ten weeks pregnant or have a child under four years old to be eligible for the scheme – but both mums or dads can sign up.
Mums-to-be can also qualify if they are under 18 and pregnant, even if they don’t get any benefits.
To apply for the scheme, you need to visit the Healthy Start website.
You can either print off a blank form, or fill out an online application form and then print this off at the end.
You need to fill out Part A carefully in black ink using CAPITAL letters.
But you can leave Part B blank – it involves getting a health professional’s signature, but this requirement was removed in April.
Once you’ve signed and dated the form, put it in an envelope and send it to the below address. There’s no need for a stamp.
Freepost RRTR-SYAE-JKCR, Healthy Start Issuing Unit, PO Box 1067, Warrington WA55 1EG.
Once you get the vouchers, they can be spent in any shop that is registered to take part in the Healthy Start scheme within 12 weeks.
These include corner shops, supermarkets, market stalls, greengrocers, milk floats and pharmacies, but they’re not valid for online shopping.
You can use the postcode finder on the Healthy Start website to find your nearest retailer.
What can I spend the vouchers on?
The vouchers can be used to buy plain cow’s milk that can be whole, semi-skimmed or skimmed.
It must also be pasteurised, sterilised, long-life or ultra-heat treated (UHT).
The vouchers are also valid on infant formula milk that is based on cow’s milk and says on the packaging that it can be used from birth.
They’re also valid for packs of plain fresh or frozen fruit and vegetables, but you can’t spend them on fruit or veggies with added ingredients such as fat, salt, sugar or flavourings – including oven chips and battered onion rings.
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Last month, research found that 270,000 young mums were missing out on the weekly food vouchers.
Official figures showed the number of eligible Brits claiming their vouchers under the “Healthy Start” scheme dropped from 73% in April 2015 to 48% in June 2020.
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