A MAN from Workington has praised companies for launching incentives that have actively helped during the cost-of-living crisis - but says more should follow their lead. 

Rich, who has been forced out of work due to a disability, has benefitted from the use of ethical loans being offered by Iceland Food Club. 

Operated by charity-owned lender Fair for You, the initiative provides interest-free loans of £25-£100 to help families (often those who struggle to access mainstream credit) to be able to afford to put food on the table as prices rise.

"Everybody must be struggling" he said. "I thought people would be jumping on this, but I haven't heard of anyone else using it.

"We were accepted straight away, it's been hassle-free.

"We pay £15 a week back and top it up every 10 weeks." 

Most Food Club customers repay £10 a week, but Fair for You can be flexible and change that amount if it helps a customer.

"It's been brilliant, it's helped us out a lot - the other big supermarkets should do this as well, it would help a lot more struggling people," Rich said.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Ending the Need for Food Banks, whose secretariat is provided by the Trussell Trust, published a report ‘Cash or food? Exploring effective responses to destitution’ on March 22. 

READ MORE: Iceland supermarket offering interest-free loans to help pay for food shops

The authors highlight the social impact of the Iceland Food Club. 

Since joining the scheme, 92 per cent of customers stopped using food banks completely (59 per cent) or reduced their use (33 per cent). 

71 per cent said they were better able to pay for food and other essentials - whilst the report also acknowledged access to low-cost credit can improve people’s credit ratings and overall financial security. 

Rich also had praise for an initiative launched by E-on energy. 

"It's a great incentive for these big companies to help people out. 

"We have E-on gas and electricity. They pay me to knock off my electricity for one hour, on a date they ask. It might only be £3 they pay me back but if I do ten times, it's £30 - it all adds up," he said. 

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 score 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. 

“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," he said. 

For more information about the Iceland Food Club please visit: https://www.fairforyou.co.uk/food-club-card