Asda cafés across the country are welcoming people over 60 to have a hot meal for £1 - and people in Leeds say it has been a God send despite only launching days ago.
For just £1, customers aged 60 and over are able to enjoy soup, a roll and unlimited tea and coffees. It will be running from November 1 to January 31, 2023.
With the cost of living, an Asda spokesperson previously said that people aged 65 to 74 are £163 per month worse off compared to this time last year.
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With the incentive underway we took to two Asda cafés in Leeds - in Middleton and Killingbeck - to see if elderly people have been taking advantage of the £1 hot meal deal. The deal is also running alongside a kid's meal deal that allows them to get a hot or cold meal for £1.
The store in Middleton has a spacious café customers can dine in before or after they do their shopping. I visited the café at around 2pm on Thursday afternoon and there were around five elderly people who were there at the time.
One of the first things I spotted were the signs on the table and around the café alerting customers about the deal.
A man, who looked like he was in his 70s, popped in to get a lemonade when he spotted the deal. He ordered a vegetable soup and as he was walking out told me “it tasted very nice, I had just come in for a lemonade”.
Perhaps if I had gone in around midday there may have been more people. A café worker said the deal runs from 10am to 5pm seven days a week.
However, space will be available on weekdays in November and December from 2pm to 6pm and all community group members who visit will receive unlimited free tea or coffee. I spoke to Denice Callaghan who works at the café and said the deal is “helping people” cope with the cost of living.
“It’s really sad, you see the regulars coming in and they can't afford to eat,” she said. “We have a lunchtime rush between 11.30am to 12.30pm and another rush in the evening. You get kids coming after school (for the children's deal), and elderly people coming in for hot dinners.
“The cost of living affected people quite badly. The bread used to be 60p but now it's £1.10. It’s helping a lot of people out, some people know about it but some people don't."
I headed to Asda in Killingbeck, another huge store, to see if it was any different and to hear of the experience they were having over seven miles away. The store was slightly busier and there were more people sitting in the cafe.
I must have counted around seven elderly people when I headed in around 3.30pm. I spoke to an 80-year-old retired pub landlord who had the soup which he agreed would help people who are currently struggling, but said he wasn’t very affected.
Sam Barrett, who had just done some shopping said: “It’s my first time coming in for the deal. I quite enjoyed the soup."
Talking about the cost of living, he continued: “We can keep going on and on and on but it doesn’t make a difference. The Prime Ministers and the MPs, they don’t know what they’re doing, they keep on contradicting each other.
“The £1 soup will help people who are struggling. I’ll probably get it a few times. A lot of elderly people are struggling, some haven’t saved throughout their life, I would imagine they’re struggling.”
“The soup is going well at the moment,” Steve, a café worker in Killingbeck, added. “It’s giving people a cheaper option for food.
“We’ve seen more elderly people, just like when the kid's deal was introduced, it was the same as that. Some people talk about how they’ve been affected by the cost of living but others keep to themselves but everyone is struggling, not just the elderly.
“We’re expecting more people to come towards Christmas time when people are shopping more, at the moment most people are just busy food shopping not Christmas shopping.”
After speaking and visiting the two Asda stores I am convinced as we get into winter more families and the elderly are going to rely on cheap meals from incentives like these.
Asda’s co-owner Mohsin Issa said they hope this programme is “impactful for those who need it” and after speaking to workers, I can only hope so too.
Mr Issa 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."
"We’ve already been able to serve over half a million meals through our Kids Eat for £1 initiative in our cafes and we’re hoping our new offer of soup and hot drinks for over 60s will prove just as impactful for those who need it most. Meanwhile, the cost of living grant programme led by Asda’s charity The Asda Foundation will support grassroots organisations who are providing a lifeline in their communities during these tough times."
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