A pensioner says he only puts the heating on when his grandchildren come to visit because of the cost of living crisis.
Graham Seymour, 66, worked from the age of 16 until he was 60 - since retiring he was on ESA benefits before moving onto pension.
The grandfather of four, from London, has said the rising cost of heating, gas and goods has forced him to make tough decisions.
He said the heating comes on when his grandkids come to visit as the youngest one is only six months old.
Mr Seymour adds that he thankfully doesn't have to skip meals because of the financial help he receives.
He told MyLondon: "There's times we’ve not put the heating on when it's been cold. It's only when the grandchildren are here that we chuck the heating on as one is only six months old.”
Mr Seymour is able to ensure he has enough food since joining the Iceland Food Club last year, which is a scheme giving zero-interest loans to help those on low incomes to afford an Iceland shop.
He says it has helped him and his partner spread out the cost of shopping.
He said: "We fill the freezers, [especially when the] grandchildren are coming around, [and] at Christmas time it really helped.”
He praised the scheme for helping take the stress off of worrying about buying food and said without it he might have to skip meals.
He said: “We'd have to make other changes if we didn’t have a scheme [such as skipping meals], it's been really helpful. When you’ve got something you can fall back on it's a good thing, you know you're not going to go without is brilliant at the end of the day."
The Iceland Food Club is a scheme giving zero-interest loans to help those on low incomes to afford an Iceland shop.
It is a collaboration between Iceland Foods and the social enterprise Fair for You.
Users apply for an initial top-up of between £25 to £100, and if the application is successful, they will receive a preloaded card within five to seven business days. Then you can use the balance on your card to shop in-store or online in Iceland. Repayments are set at £10 per week and you can choose which day of the week your repayments come out.
A customer’s first Food Club loan can be taken out at any time, but subsequent loans can only be taken out during six windows around the school holidays. Limiting loans to these periods ensures customers do not rely on the scheme throughout the year.
The scheme, which is used by more than 23,000 families to stock up on food and smooth out their finances during the school holidays, has been highlighted for its role in helping people avoid turning to either food banks or illegal money lenders.
Simon Dukes, CEO of Fair for You, said: “Food banks are a vital emergency response to food poverty, but the APPG has identified that many households can avoid having to use them if given access to other schemes before crisis strikes.
"Many of the people that Fair for You supports would not be eligible for cash grants. Our interest-free microloans help families to steady the ship during periods of high expenses and help them build their credit scores and financial resilience.
"Being a responsible lender, if we see that someone will struggle to repay then we’ll signpost them to other sources of support.
“We note the report’s recommendations that those at risk of food poverty are given information on a range of options as part of referral pathways.
"We stand ready to work with all partners, from local authorities to charities, to ensure that the Iceland Food Club can be made available to all those who could benefit from it.
“It’s worth noting that Food Club generated a sizeable social benefit when offering microloans with a low-interest rate to cover the costs of operating the scheme’s pilot. Iceland has since gone a step further in investing to make all loans completely interest-free, and we look forward to continuing to see it change lives across the country.”
