Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

Wales Online

Molly Dowrick

I asked for a Henry for lunch at a Morrisons café and was really impressed

Morrisons Morrison (Organization) Heinz John Myers Kelloggs (Organization) Wales

Amid the cost of living crisis, thousands of people across Wales are unfortunately struggling to afford their weekly shop - especially if they have several mouths to feed at home. Whilst dedicated volunteers at food banks, hygiene banks and community centres across the country are working hard to provide people in their communities with the things they need, some people find it difficult to get to their nearest food bank or perhaps don't qualify for the voucher needed at some locations.

Fortunately, a major UK supermarket is offering free lunches to anyone who needs one - no questions asked and no voucher required. The brilliant "Ask For Henry" scheme first launched in Morrisons supermarket cafes last October and has returned this Spring for two weeks.

Running from Monday, April 24 to Sunday, May 7, the scheme offers a jacket potato with Heinz baked beans and a side salad - completely for free - to anyone who mentions "Henry" at the check-out. The easiest way to place your lunch order is to ask staff at the Morrisons café "Can I have a Henry?," but you can also ask "Is Henry here?" or simply mention the name to get your free lunch. You can read more about the Ask For Henry scheme in a previous article here.

We headed to our local Morrisons supermarket café to see if the Ask For Henry initiative would work for us - and we were impressed with how simple it was. For more of the latest Neath Port Talbot news, sign up to our twice-weekly newsletter here.

What to expect when you order a 'Henry' at Morrisons café

We'd heard good things about the Ask For Henry scheme when it first launched last October - so we were optimistic when we headed to the café in Morrisons supermarket in Neath town centre to try it out this time round. It was quite cold and wet outside, so it was unsurprising that there was a steady stream of people - a mixture of shoppers and non-shoppers - bustling into the café throughout lunchtime to grab a bite with friends, or to simply get out of the rain.

The Morrisons café in the Neath store is located near the entrance/exit to the shop and in order to get to the seating area there, you have to walk past the self-serve drinks machines, counters and tills. We arrived shortly after 12pm and joined the short queue along the counters - and were pleased to see a poster advertising the Ask For Henry initiative clearly on-display next to the self-serve drinks machine.

I think if anyone were nervous about asking for a Henry, seeing the poster may make them feel reassured that the Ask For Henry initiative is the real deal - and that they won't be judged or questioned if they asked for one.

A poster advertising the Ask For Henry scheme was clearly on-display on a drinks machine - before customers get to the tills - in the cafe (WalesOnline/MollyDowrick)

When it was our turn to order at the tills, we asked for two fizzy drinks and two Henry's. The conversation went like this: "Hello, could we have two cups for the fizzy drinks machine, and could we have two Henrys please?"

The friendly staff member nodded and said: "Yes, I can get you the cups now and I'll order you the Henry's too." The employee couldn't find a button for the Henry deal on her till, so was advised by a colleague to tap the 'free cereal for breakfast' deal. Ultimately, this meant the 'Henry' lunch itself wasn't listed on our receipt and 'Kelloggs Breakfast' and 'Kelloggs Coco Pops' was instead - but this shouldn't be an issue for anyone as both the Kelloggs breakfast deal (which ran during the Easter holidays) and the Henry deal are free.

You don't have to purchase anything at all if you'd like a Henry, but we were thirsty so decided to order a fizzy drink each (at £1.89 for a regular cup) - which we did have to pay for as the Ask For Henry deal does not include a drink.

We picked a table and sat down and people-watched a little, before our lunches were brought to us by a staff member. We did have about a 25-minute wait for the Henry lunches, as the café only had three members of staff working, but we were very pleased with what we served.

What you get when you ask for a Henry at Morrisons supermarket cafes (John Myers/WalesOnline)

Firstly, it wasn't obvious that the meals had been free. There was no labels or anything on the plates to show they were Henry's - and each jacket potato lunch looked like it was a similar-size portion to other Morrison's lunches. Our plates consisted of a jacket potato with a small bowl of Heinz baked beans, and a simple side salad or mixed leaves and tomatoes. We were also given a Lurpak butter sachet and a few sauce packets each.

Our lunch was warm, tasty and filling. The jacket potato and beans was a good-sized portion which certainly set us up for the rest of the day. We would have loved some cheese for our jackets but really the lunch was very good!

The lunch was tasty and filling - and there was nothing on the plate to suggest it was free (John Myers/WalesOnline)

We finished our plates - the Henrys are good-sized portions (John Myers/WalesOnline)

And I think the fact that it was subtle and that no-one would know the lunch was free, aside from the staff member you placed your order with, would make a lot of people feel reassured that no-one is judging them for what they're eating or that they can't afford to splash the cash on a lunch in a café.

I'm pleased to know the initiative is running in Morrisons cafes across Wales and would recommend a Henry lunch for anyone who would benefit from it, for whatever personal or financial reason.

I recognise that I am fortunate enough to be able to afford to pay for the Henry I received for free while testing that the initiative works - so will be donating what the meal would have cost (£4.48) to a food charity.