More than one million £1 Asda café meals have been served to children and pensioners since June

Asda has invested in a number of ‘in store’ initiatives to help customers and communities combat the rising cost of living.

The Leeds-based company said sales of its “Kids Eat for £1” and “OAP Winter Warmer Café £1 meal deal” are averaging around 50,000 meals a week.

In a statement, Asda said: “According to the BBC, more than three million youngsters have taken advantage of different retailers’ bargain deals since May, after special campaigns were launched over the summer holidays and half term.

“Throughout November and December Asda are offering people aged 60 and over the chance to enjoy soup, a roll and unlimited tea and coffees for just £1 in any of Asda’s 205 cafes.

"The offer is available all day, every day and will run alongside the current ‘Kids eat for £1’ offer which continues to be hugely popular, with more than 835,000 meals served since its launch in June.”

Sales of the £1 kids meal deal peaked during the school holidays, but in the four weeks since October half term the retailer is now averaging 29,000 meals a week.

The statement added: “A whopping 73 per cent of the sales of the meals came from a customer base who were new visitors to the Asda Café, including a third who were completely new to Asda.

“The deal is providing a life line for many families, with 41 per cent of baskets containing more than two meals, meaning multiple children are being fed per visit.”

“The OAPs’ Winter Warmer £1 soup and roll meal deal is also becoming increasingly popular, having served more than 130,000 customers since its launch in November, averaging around 32,500 meals a week.”

Mohsin Issa, Asda’s co-owner, said: “We have launched these initiatives to support our customers and communities this winter as we know it’s going to be incredibly hard for many people due to rising living costs. We have already served more than a million meals through our Kids Eat for £1 and Winter Warmers deals, and we hope that many more families and over 60s will visit in December to take advantage of these offers.

"On top of this, we’ve invested £2.4m through Asda and the Cost-of-Living grant programme led by Asda’s charity, The Asda Foundation who are supporting grassroots organisations providing a lifeline in their communities during these tough times."

The investment from the Asda Foundation is supporting more than 2,000 grassroots groups who will be able to continue their work in communities despite rising running costs.

In a statement, Asda added: “Asda has also visited five community groups across the UK to give them an extra special surprise to help with events or makeovers that couldn’t happen due to lack of funding, ranging from ‘Winter Wonderland’ parties to transforming community rooms.

“Community groups who may otherwise struggle to meet due to rising energy costs are also being invited to Asda cafes. Warm spaces have been made available on weekdays across November and December from 2pm to 6pm and all community group members who visit receive a free tea or coffee.”