If you’re more than ten weeks pregnant or have a child under the age of four, you may be entitled to get help to buy healthy food and milk.
If you’re eligible for the NHS Healthy Start Scheme, you’ll be sent a Healthy Start card with money on it that you can use in some shops. Your benefit will be added to this every 4 weeks. You can use your card to purchase:
- Cow’s milk
- Fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables
- Infant formula milk based on cow’s milk
- Fresh, dried and tinned pulses
You can also use your card to collect Healthy Start vitamins.
You need to be claiming certain benefits to qualify.
You will also be eligible if you’re under 18 and pregnant even if you’re not receiving any benefits.
Payments are:
£4.25 each week of pregnancy (from 10th week of pregnancy)
£8.50 each week for children from birth to 1 year old
£4.25 each week for children between 1 and 4 years old
Applications can be made online from the Healthy Start website – www.healthystart.nhs.uk/how-to-apply/