A supermarket has announced it is to extend its £1 meal deals into 2023 amid fresh warnings that food prices will continue to rise this year.

Asda, which offers cut-price meals to children and older customers, says both offers will be available in cafes until the end of March.

The deals - which offer children under 16 a hot meal for £1 with no minimum adult spend and over 60s a soup, roll and unlimited hot drinks for the same price - have served up more than 1.2 million meals since they were launched in the retailer's 205 eateries nationwide last year.

A decision to extend both initiatives comes as Asda’s Income Tracker shows UK households were £107 a month worse off in November 2022 as a result of the cost of living crisis and predicts that disposable incomes will continue to decline this year as inflationary pressures continue to bite.

Warnings this week from the British Retail Consortium, which confirm that fresh food prices rose at record rates in December, paint an equally bleak picture with predictions that food prices could continue to rise as businesses and households both grapple with higher energy bills - and therefore production costs - from April.

As well as continuing to offer the winter warming deals the supermarket giant is also extending its 10% Blue Light discount for emergency workers until 'at least the end of March 2023'. This offers those in the NHS, emergency services, social care sector and armed forces a range of discounts if they hold a Blue Light Card. Asda’s colleagues will also continue to receive a 10% discount in stores and online from their first day of employment.

Mohsin Issa, Asda’s co-owner added: "We know that as families head into the New Year, the pressures on household budgets will continue – but we remain as committed as ever to supporting our customers tackle tough times.

"Our café initiatives have already proven a lifeline for over a million customers since we launched them last year, and we hope to support many thousands more into 2023, alongside our ongoing support for emergency workers and our valued colleagues."