HUNDREDS of Brit households could score a free £300 supermarket voucher in a bid to ease everyday living costs.
From Tuesday, residents in a county southwest of London can apply for the vouchers which can be used at nine major stores.
Surrey County Council announced the scheme to assist eligible households amid the rising cost of living crisis.
The council launched an Everyday Essentials E-Voucher scheme for those finding it tough to afford food and toiletries.
The vouchers can be redeemed at a supermarket of the recipient’s choice and are valid in nine major stores, including Aldi, Asda, Farmfoods, Iceland, The Food Warehouse, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.
Other counties throughout the UK have offered a range of support for vulnerable households, via backing from the Department for Work and Pensions‘ (DWP) Household Support Fund.
The DWP scheme gives local councils across England a share of a funding pot worth £742 million.
The money is then distributed to eligible households who need help to afford essential living costs over winter, including energy bills and food.
The funding is allocated from now until March 31, with local councils independently deciding how to share the cash.
In South East England, Surrey County Council is providing supermarket vouchers worth up to £300 to eligible households in February.
There are also two types of one-off amounts of funding available.
Single households are given vouchers worth £200 and households with children are given vouchers worth £300.
There is only one E-voucher available per household.
Residents can apply for the vouchers from February 3 at 1pm; however, numbers for the next round of vouchers are limited.
Those who miss out can try again in the next round, which opens on March 4.
Households will need to provide financial evidence to support their application covering the period between January 5, 2026, to February 2, 2026.
Those who are successful will be sent their voucher by email within four weeks.
Criteria for eligible residents includes needing to be 18 years old or older, have household savings of £2,000 or less on average over a 90-day period, and have an annual household income under £27,007.50 before taxes and deductions.
In a statement from Surrey County Council, it said: “The Everyday Essentials E-Voucher will be available until Tuesday 31 March 2026 or until all funds have been allocated, whichever is the earlier. There will be monthly application windows open for people to apply.”
“Application windows will be open weekdays only Monday through to Friday, until all funding for that monthly funding window has been allocated,” it said.
“The application window will then be closed until the next month.”
“Depending on your choice of supermarket, you can either redeem your E-voucher online, via your phone in store or by printing off your E- voucher and using in store,” the council added.
“You do not have to redeem your E-voucher all in one go. You have at least one year to redeem your E-voucher. Exact expiry times for each retailer can be found on the E-voucher portal which you will have access to once you have received your E-voucher.”
As Household Support Fund cash is distributed independently by local councils, levels of availability will vary with location.
Different vouchers or grants are available across the country.
The payments may also be issued at different times depending on where you live.
The DWP said there may also be differences in who the money is given to and if or how you need to apply for the support.
This is due to some local councils opting to share the money out through local charities and community groups, while some limit household applications to one per year.
