Iceland is giving away free £30 food vouchers in 16 areas - is your town is on the list?

Iceland is giving away free £30 vouchers to pensioners to help with rising costs.

The voucher can be used towards food and other essentials in stores.

To qualify for the voucher, you must be of pension age, living independently or with a carer and relying solely on state pensions and benefits.

Another criteria is also that pensioners must live in one of 16 specific areas nationwide, which encompasses a total of 269 Iceland stores.

The places have been identified as towns and cities where there are some of the highest numbers of struggling pensioners.

Iceland supermarket is running a voucher scheme for six weeks in a bid to support vulnerable pensioners (SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The voucher scheme is part of the "Summer Cheer" campaign, which is running from August 1 until September 16.

The Rothesay Foundation who support pensioners in need across the UK are partners for the scheme.

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.”

Pensioners in areas with the highest levels of material deprivation can claim for a £30 voucher and get 10% discounts on Tuesdays (Getty Images)

Addy Loudiadis, of the Rothesay Foundation, said: “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 get the £30 Iceland voucher

Iceland is offering support for its older customers this summer (AFP via Getty Images)

If you meet the criteria, you can claim the voucher by calling the Summer Cheer hotline on 0800 098 7877.

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

This is not the only measure Iceland is taking to support older people in times of crisis.

In May, the supermarket launched a weekly over 60’s discount across all the stores.

Customers are provided with a 10% discount every Tuesday, when ID is verified.

What’s more, the £30 voucher works in conjunction with this discount to help the money go even further.

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

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

Click here to find out if your local Iceland store accepts these vouchers by entering your postcode into the search bar.