Iceland has today announced further support for Marcus Rashford’s campaign to end child food poverty in the UK by offering free frozen vegetables to families using Healthy StartVouchers.
Earlier this week, it was announced that supermarket chain is part of the Child Poverty Task Force formed by Manchester United star Marcus Rashford and the retailer has now jumped even further into action by offering shoppers using Healthy Start Vouchers a free bag of frozen veg worth £1.
Frozen veg is said to offers the same nutritional value of fresh veg, whilst also helping to reduce waste and last longer, which helps families to manage their spend. This free frozen veg will boost the value of the vouchers to ensure that all families have easy access to nutritious food at a great value.
Those with Healthy Start Vouchers can redeem the offer from Friday 11th September.
The offer comes after Marcus Rashford called for the government to implement three of the policy recommendations of the National Food Strategy – including increasing the value of Healthy Start Vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25 – and now Iceland’s initiative will add value to the scheme, while the government considers the improvements it will make through policy changes.
? Special announcement ?
From next Friday, anyone using a Healthy Start voucher can get a free bag of frozen veg to boost the voucher's value, and help ensure families have access to healthy food.
The Manchester United footballer and Wythenshawe-local announced the forming of the taskforce this week, as he continues to tackle child food poverty.
The initiatives suggested include the expansion of free school meals, expansion of school holiday food and activity programmes, and increasing the value of the Healthy Start vouchers as well as expanding their availability to all those on Universal Credit.
Iceland Foods was named as one of the supporters of the campaign and is backing proposals drafted by the National Food Strategy.
Marcus Rashford said: “My hope on forming the Child Food Poverty Task Force was that it would ignite conversation relating to the issue – why is this happening? How is this happening? And, are we really doing everything we can to help?
“Iceland’s new initiative grew out of that conversation and it really shows how the simplest step can have impact.”
Henry Dimbleby – Head of the independent National Food Strategy – said: “It is brilliant that Iceland have taken this step to help children get more fruit and veg into their diets. What a great example of how a supermarket can help low-income households eat well.
“Eating well in childhood is the very foundation stone of equality of opportunity. There is a serious danger that this economic downturn will increases hunger and poor diet, and leave a lasting scar on the bodies and prospects of our young children.
“I urge the government to follow suit by increasing the value of Healthy Start Vouchers to £4.25 a week and offering them to all pregnant women and parents and carers on universal credit with children under four.”
Iceland Foods
Following the implementation of the initiative, Iceland will report findings and learnings back to the Food Foundation – which is working to support the implementation of the National Food Strategy recommendations – government Ministers and Marcus himself in the hope that this will encourage the government to accept the pressing need to increase the value of, and extend the entitlement to Healthy Start Vouchers.
Richard Walker – Managing Director of Iceland Foods – said: “We are proud to stand alongside Marcus Rashford as he continues this vital campaign, and we understand the pressing need to help from our interactions with millions of customers each week.
“We were keen to implement initiatives as soon as possible, without waiting for the Government to respond, which is why we have introduced our frozen vegetable offer.
“At Iceland we have a long history of supporting our local communities and offering great quality, low cost food to help families across the country [and] we will continue to review our commitment to ensure we are able to support Marcus’ campaign to the fullest possible extent.”
You can find out more via the Iceland website here.
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Live football to be prescribed by some GPs to help treat patients with depression
Danny Jones
Live football looks set to be prescribed by a section of the NHS in an effort to try and help people suffering from depression.
As part of the experimental new wellbeing and mental healthcare initiative, GPs across the UK could soon be able to suggest watching football in person as part of their wider treatment plans.
While it may sound like a somewhat unorthodox approach, it’s sparked plenty of conversation on social media and is already gathering some steam up and down the country.
The scheme is being pioneered by Labour MP, Dr Simon Opher, the representative for Stroud, as well as Ecotricity owner and green industrialist, Dale Vince.
Today we’ve announced Football On Prescription. Football clubs up and down the country and up and down the leagues can take part in this – and I hope they will. Mental health is a big issue, as are loneliness and isolation. One of the superpowers of football is its inclusivity -… pic.twitter.com/OWNOag6Fcc
‘Prescribed footy’, to coin a somewhat jarring colloquialism, is set to be rolled out to relevant patients across the Gloucestershire region diagnosed with depression and some other mental health conditions.
Those on the receiving end of these prescriptions will be offered free tickets to watch local National League side, Forest Green Rovers (FGR), based in the town of Nailsworth.
Vince, who founded Ecotricity – formerly known as Renewable Energy Company – back in 1995, bought Forest Green back in 2010 and is just passionate about football and mental health as the push for clean energy and environmental causes.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio in an interview on Tuesday, 22 July, the 64-year-old Norfolk-born OBE said: “We just do the things that we see, that we think could be done, should be done, that will help; whether it’s helping our planet, our country – people here [in Gloucestershire]…
“When you attend football matches, particularly regularly, you find yourself a part of something, a part of a group of people with a common purpose. It’s a wonderful social experience that we think would be really good for people suffering from mental health problems.”
Despite some doubters and detractors questioning his motives online and in the media, he insists the sentiment is purely altruistic, and FGR hope to aligning itself with big causes like mental health, even making the first fully vegan-certified football kits ahead of the 2025/26 season.
He also went on to add, “We also won’t take adverts or sponsorship from gambling companies: they do great harm in our society.”
As for Dr Opher, he has continued to champion ‘social prescribing’ across his medical and political career, backing it as a viable alternative to common medication such as antidepressants for some individuals with mild-moderate depression.
The live football on presecption concept has been met with plenty of pushback online, including lots of discourse surrounding priorities and the NHS remaining underfunded, but only time will tell how well these early trials go.
What do you make of the idea of football being put forward as an aid for depression and do you think it should be considered by the NHS at large?
These viral sensations are a plush toy created by Hong Kong-born, Netherlands-raised designer Kasing Lung, who drew inspiration from his love of fairytales to create a character with bunny-like ears, large eyes and big smiles.
They’re swinging off handbags all over the UK at the minute and people are queueing for hours for the latest Labubu drops.
At Sweet Dreams, they’re making edible chocolate Labubus using a special mould flown in from Japan.
Each one has a pistachio kunafa filling and is painstakingly painted by hand.
And that brings us neatly to the next viral craze at play here – Dubai pistachio chocolate.
An army of pistachio chocolate LabubuInside a chocolate pistachio Labubu
Kunafa is a staple in Middle Eastern bakes and pastries but hit the global mainstream last year when thick chocolate pistachio bars stuffed with it went viral online, spawning countless dupes and inspired specials.
And finally, chocolate covered strawberries – hardly a new invention, but this simple dessert has rocketed in popularity especially in food hotspots like Borough Market in London.
Head into Sweet Dreams and you can build your treat from the base up – choose white or milk melted chocolate for your strawberries, layer on pistachio kunafa, then top with either a milk or white chocolate Labubu.
A slightly daft novelty? Yes. But that doesn’t stop them being delicious.
This is the only place in the UK currently selling Dubai pistachio chocolate Labubus.
Emily Sergeant -
4th September 2020 
