Many parents will have been paid early this December, and while that advance payment comes in handy for Christmas, it often leaves shoppers skint come January, having to stretch their money an extra week. But Tesco are bringing back a popular scheme in all of their cafés to help out before kids head back to school.
The supermarket has announced it will be bringing back its Kids Eat Free scheme in 312 cafés across the UK, starting on Boxing Day and running until January 6, 2023.
The deal will see Tesco offer one free Kids Hot Meal Deal, Kids Breakfast or Kids Pick ‘n’ Mix deal with each item bought by an adult.
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The smallest denomination people can spend is as little as 60p when showing their Clubcard at the till, meaning you can feed two people for 30p each.
Kids Eat Free is part of Tesco’s work to help customers save money during the Christmas season and help families provide children with a balanced meal.
Popular kids menu items include beans or avocado on toast, fish fingers, baked chicken goujons or a sandwich. Main meals include a vegetable side dish and sandwich pick n mix includes a piece of fresh fruit so there’s something healthy and substantial to feed hungry children from breakfast until dinner.
Tesco is estimated to have provided more than 400,000 free meals to children during school holidays in 2022.
Jason Tarry, Tesco UK CEO, said: “We are pleased to bring back our Kids Eat Free initiative in Tesco Cafés, offering a little extra support over the Christmas holidays. We want to help parents and carers to provide children with nutritious food – saving them some money at a time when budgets are tighter than ever. Children can get a balanced meal and hopefully get into the Christmas spirit too."
The scheme has been relaunched after recent research from leading food charity The Food Foundation shows that four million children in households are affected by food insecurity - the highest level they’ve tracked since the start of the pandemic. The research also shows that households with children are more likely to experience food insecurity than households without children - 25.8 per cent versus 16 per cent.
Anna Taylor, Executive Director of the Food Foundation said: “It’s great to see Tesco supporting families in this way, particularly at such an important time of year. We know that the cost-of-living crisis has put increased pressure on vulnerable households, so the ability for parents and carers to get a free meal in so many communities across the country is very welcome.
“Hunger doesn’t take a holiday, so it’s vital that both the government and businesses act to support families as we head into what will be a very challenging Winter for many,”
In addition to Kids Eat Free, Tesco also supports families in the community through its partnership with Fareshare and the Trussell Trust, providing surplus food to thousands of local charities and community groups through its Community Food Connection programme. Customers can also use food sharing app, OLIO, to find free food that has been donated by Tesco.
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