Morrisons and Heinz offer free meals to people in need

Close up of the front of a Morrisons supermarket with the logo centred

The Ask for Henry initiative that was first launched in 2022 to feed thousands of hungry people is returning this spring. 

As the cost of living in the UK continues to grow, Morrisons has revived its ‘Ask For Henry’ initiative, offering free meals to anyone in need. Launched in partnership with Heinz Beanz, the scheme will return to the supermarket retailer’s cafés for the next two weeks.

Anyone in need of sustenance can visit one of Morrison’s 397 cafés across the nation and ‘ask for Henry’ to receive a hot jacket potato with beans and salad. All meals are complimentary with no questions asked.

To obtain the offer, customers simply need to head to a Morrisons Café till and mention the word ‘Henry’ – suggested phrases include ‘is Henry here’, ‘Henry’, ‘can I have a Henry’, ‘can I ask for’, or something similar.  All staff have been fully trained to recognise and respond to the cues.

Sian Whittle, Category Director for Food Service at Morrisons, said: “Our customers were very grateful for the ‘Ask for Henry’ initiative last year and as they continue to face financial pressures, we’re pleased to be renewing our partnership with Heinz. For the next two weeks we’re bringing back our free jacket potato topped with Beanz offer in our cafés nationwide.” 

The free meal scheme is part of Heinz’s ongoing commitment to help with food poverty across the UK. Other collaborations include an initiative through which they’ve donated over 17 million meals to children’s charity Magic Breakfast.

Jojo De Noronha, President Northern Europe at Heinz, said: “Last October we launched the ‘Ask for Henry’ initiative for the first time and were blown away by the response.  And that’s why we’ve been working hard behind the scenes to bring back the initiative again, available from 24th April.”

“We would really encourage anyone who feels they may need or want a hot, hearty meal to take us up on this offer – it’s open to absolutely everyone, and there is plenty to go around. Whilst we know it doesn’t fix the problem, we’d love to be able to help as many people as we can in this two-week period in our own small way.” 

The initiative ends runs from 24 April to 7 May 2023 with each customer entitled to one meal per day while stocks last.