Iceland, Birds Eye and Currys partner on community project
In a new partnership initiative, Iceland, Currys and Birds Eye are working together to help families that don’t have freezers.
Starting next month, 30 low-income households will be donated freezers by Currys. Iceland and Birds Eye will then provide participants with advice and support including cooking lessons.
Participating families have been selected by the Clarion Housing Group, which has also worked to tailor the package of support provided.
Four families based in Salford will receive face-to-face support including recipe cards, cooking classes and budgeting advice. The remaining participants will be given an online version of the support.
Manchester Metropolitan University will publish a white paper on the results of the initiative, which will then be shared with UK policymakers, social landlords and local authorities, Iceland said.
Iceland said it hoped its involvement would act as a “call to action” for policymakers to improve the accessibility to frozen food for lower-income households. The pilot will track whether having better access to frozen food helps families to cut food waste and reduce their household food bill.
Iceland executive chairman Richard Walker said people were looking for more ways to reduce their food bills amid the cost of living crisis.
“This unique community project will help families with barriers to freezer ownership, and we hope that we will find that families can save money and improve their diets when they are able to access and use freezers and frozen food,” he said.
Research conducted by the Manchester Metropolitan University in 2018 found that switching from fresh to frozen food could help cut food waste while helping households reduce their weekly grocery bill by almost 30%.
However, it’s estimated that currently around one in 10 UK households live without a freezer.
Birds Eye general manager Steve Challouma said: “By making healthy options more convenient, and by reducing food waste, we hope that this project succeeds in helping participating families and households adopt healthier and more affordable eating habits.”
