Tag: supermarkets
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Thousands of families missing out on free cash to spend in supermarkets – how to claim now
THOUSANDS of families are missing out on free money to help pay for food, worth hundreds of pounds a year.
Around 143,000 families eligible for the Healthy Start Scheme in March this year failed to make a claim.
Hundreds of thousands of families are missing out on free money for food[/caption]
Families eligible for help through the scheme now get prepaid cards to spend at a range of supermarkets and shops, replacing vouchers.
Healthy Start offers money to low-income families with small children to help pay for milk, vegetables, fruit and more.
But the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents 350 councils in England and Wales, said around one in three people who can get the cash are not claiming.
It also noted areas with higher levels of poverty are seeing a lower take up in the scheme.
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It comes as the LGA published a five-point plan calling on government to make changes to ensure families can access the scheme.
Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Every year millions of pounds of vital Healthy Start vouchers go unclaimed and families miss out on free fruit, vegetables and milk.”
The LGA’s five-point plan for Healthy Food Vouchers is calling for an increase in the value of Healthy Start Vouchers in line with the current rate of inflation.
That would mean the weekly payments going from £4.25 to £4.67 and £8.50 to £9.35.
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It is also calling for the expansion of the scheme to include all families on Universal Credit.
You currently only get help if you’re on Universal Credit and not earning any money or are earning money, but £408 or less per family per month after tax.
Thirdly, it is calling for the age eligibility for the scheme to be increased for children up to five. The current maximum age is four.
Fourthly, it wants the scheme to become automated so that eligible families are automatically enrolled. As it stands, families have to apply for the scheme.
And lastly, the LGA is calling for the government to start an awareness raising campaign to promote the Healthy Start Scheme.
What is the Healthy Start scheme and how do I claim?
The Healthy Start scheme offers out prepaid food cards to women who are more than 10 weeks pregnant or women or men who have children under four.
They typically must also be on certain benefits, including:
- Income Support
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Child Tax Credit with a family income of £16,190 or less per year
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit with no earned income or total earned income of £408 or less per month for the family.
However, if you are under 18 and pregnant you can get the money, even if you don’t receive any of the above benefits.
Families that qualify get £4.25 a week per child or double that depending on how old the child is.
For example, if your child is younger than 12 months old, you get £8.50 each week.
So in the first year of your child’s life you could get £442.
Women who are more than 10 weeks pregnant get £4.25 a week, and it’s the same amount for each child between one and four.
That amounts to £221 a year.
The food cards can be spent at any location that accepts Mastercard.
That means you can use it at supermarkets, markets, petrol stations, butcher shops and more.
Some supermarkets which are part of the scheme include Tesco, Iceland and Aldi.
The cards can only be used for foods including:
- plain liquid cow’s milk
- fresh, frozen, and tinned fruit and vegetables
- fresh, dried, and tinned pulses
- infant formula milk based on cow’s milk
You can apply via email or phone on healthy.start@nhsbsa.nhs.uk or 0300 330 7010. You can also apply online here.
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To complete the application, you’ll need your name, address, date of birth, National Insurance (NI) number, baby’s due date (if you’re pregnant) and a benefit aware letter, if you’re over 18.
It comes after Sainsbury’s said it would provide those eligible for Healthy Start an extra £2 a week to spend up until April next year in the cost of living crisis.
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Shoppers are shocked to discover 18 supermarkets are actually all just Kroger in disguise
MANY shoppers are surprised to learn that more than a dozen stores across the country are actually Kroger shops.
The Kroger Family of Stores lists a total of 18 markets on its website that are related to the company, and you may recognize a few of the names.
Kroger has at least 18 other stores tied to its brand[/caption]
Deals are applicable in other family of Kroger stores[/caption]
Kroger says its story started in 1883 when Barney Kroger invested his life savings of $372 to open a grocery store in downtown Cincinnati.
His motto was: “Be particular. Never sell anything you would not want yourself.”
More than a century later, Kroger dubs itself as the nation’s largest grocer with nearly 2,800 stores in 35 states.
“Our current practices are rooted in Barney Kroger’s early efforts to serve customers through food freshness, low prices and innovation—fundamentals that remain at the heart of our Kroger mission today,” the website says.
Another part of Kroger’s site lists the brands included as part of its Family of Stores:
- Baker’s
- City Market
- Dillons
- Food 4 Less
- Foods Co
- Fred Meyer
- Fry’s
- Gerbes
- Jay C Food Store
- King Soopers
- Mariano’s
- Metro Market
- Pay-Less Super Markets
- Pick’n Save
- QFC
- Ralphs
- Ruler
- Smith’s Food and Drug
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The company merged with Dillon Companies Inc. in Kansas in 1983 to bring Dillon’s, King Soopers, Fry’s, City Market, and Gerbes into the Kroger family.
The biggest merger in the company’s history was in 1999 when it merged with Fred Meyer, Inc., owner of Smith’s Ralphs, Food 4 Less, and QFC.
More recent mergers include Baker’s in 2001, Harris Teeter in 2014 and Roundy’s, Pick ‘N Save, Metro Markets, and Mariano’s in 2015.
Kroger said it rakes more than $132.5billion in annual sales.
The chain is popular throughout the US and offers deals like 10 percent off on Wednesday for military members.
The discount is available every Wednesday from August 31.
In addition, Kroger introduced a new device across its stores that could end of self-checkout.
Customers have the option of using a KroGo cart, which is a buggy that comes with a built-in camera.
Shoppers can put their reusable grocery bags inside before wandering the aisles.
This allows customers to pick up and scan items before putting them into the cart.
Shoppers pay for their items using their credit or debit card directly on the cart.
Supermarkets slammed over ‘dodgy deals’ that could make you spend MORE
SHOPPERS trying to save money are being bamboozled by confusing product labels, consumer group Which? has warned.
There are fears that customers are overpaying for their food shop every week because it is too difficult to find the best deals.
It is calling on supermarkets to make pricing clearer so customers can easily find the best value products.
Sue Davies, head of food policy at Which?, said: “At a time when food prices are a huge concern, unit pricing can be a useful tool for shoppers to compare and choose the cheapest groceries.
“But unclear supermarket pricing means the vast majority of people are left struggling to find the best deal.”
Shoppers are often advised to look at the unit price on products (for example, the per ml or per gram cost) when shopping for the best deal – this makes it easier to compare similar items of different sizes.
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But research by Which? found that 72% of people could not work out the cheapest item when comparing products in store.
It said, for example, there were up to 17 different sized bottles of Coca-Cola in some supermarkets, making it almost impossible for shoppers to compare deals.
At Tesco, the price of fizzy drink varied from 11p per 100ml to 50p per 100ml, depending on which size bottle shoppers chose.
Customers who selected a 1.5litre bottle of Coca-Cola at Tesco would pay £1.68, compared with £5 for four 250ml glass bottles of the drink (a total volume of 1 litre).
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As part of its investigation, Which? tracked the price of 10 popular groceries including milk, instant coffee and Dairy Milk chocolate, at the Big Four supermarkets for three months.
Which? also visited branches of nine major supermarket chains to see how unit prices varied.
Some of the “dodgy deals” it has named and shamed in its investigation include:
- Missing unit pricing on Penguin bars in Waitrose
- No unit pricing on Muller puddings in Tesco on multibuy with loyalty card
- Unit pricing of peppers in Lidl “per piece”, “each” and “per kg”
- Unit pricing of confectionary in Iceland obscured by £1 promotional banner
- No unit pricing on yellow sticker price for steak in Tesco
At Morrisons, shoppers could end up paying 133% extra for semi-skimmed milk if they selected the wrong carton.
A 500ml bottle was 65p, compared to a 2.27 litre one at £1.27. Which? said milk prices varied between 6p and 13p per 100ml.
Which? said terminology on labels was also confusing, with fruit and veg price per pack, per kilo, or per item, making it difficult to compare.
Special offers, price reductions and multibuy deals were also frequently not reflected in pricing, making it hard for customers to understand if they were getting a good deal.
At Tesco, unit prices were not shown on Clubcard deals.
Which? has called on supermarkets to make pricing clearer to help customers struggling in the cost of living crisis.
Do shops have to show unit prices?
Stores are obligated to show unit pricing, under legislation known as the Price Marking Order 2004.
It lays out that a unit price should be “unambiguous, easily identifiable and clearly legible”.
However, Which? points out that the rules don’t specify that unit prices are uniform – that means different measurements may be used for similar products, making it difficult to compare.
Which? has previously complained to the Competition and Markets Authority and made suggestion on how to improve unit pricing.
Which?’s Davies said: “Small savings can add up and make a big difference but unless supermarkets make unit pricing much more prominent, legible and consistent – as well as displaying it on their promotional offers – people will continue to risk missing out on getting the best value.”
Which? approached Aldi, Amazon Fresh, Asda, Iceland, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose for comment.
A Lidl spokesperson said: “We always endeavour to ensure that pricing information is as clear as possible for our customers so that they can make informed purchasing decisions.”
A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We regularly review all our products to ensure our unit pricing is clear and consistent, so that customers can compare prices and save money. Our Partners are always on hand to assist customers with any pricing queries.”
How to save on your supermarket shop
Grocery prices are soaring and many shoppers are trying to cut their spending as the cost of living crisis rumbles on.
From moving to a cheaper supermarket, looking out for yellow-sticker discounts, and downshifting to own-brand products, there are ways to cut your costs.
You can also change the way you trawl the aisles to find savings. Head to the world foods aisle for store cupboard staples, says consumer expert Vix Leyton.
“This aisle typically has great value options on herbs and spices. It’s also good for essentials like tinned tomatoes and chickpeas,” she said.
Many items can be picked up for less in the frozen aisle – particularly fruit and veg.
Cheaper priced items are often placed on the bottom shelf at supermarkets – so be sure to look beyond the eye-level shelves when ticking things off your shopping list.
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If you shop for groceries online, TopCashback’s browser extension tool will automatically notify you of any deals and cashback available when you’re shopping.
Look out for new customer discount too – you can usually get money-off your first online shop with the major supermarkets.