Healthy Start

About

With healthy start, you get free money every week to spend on milk, infant fomrula milk and fresh,frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables.

Women and children getting healthy start food vouchers also get free vitamin coupons.

What we do

If you are more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4, you may be entitled to get help to buy healthy food and milk.

If you are eligible, you will be sent a healthy start card with money on it that you can use in some UK shops. We will add your benefit onto this card every 4 weeks.

You can use your card to buy

  • Plain liquid cow’s milk
  • Fresh, frozen, and tinned fruit and vegetables
  • Fresh, dried, and tinned pulses
  • Infant formula milk based on cow’s milk

You can also use your card to collect

  • Healthy start vitamins, these support you during pregnancy and breastfeeding
  • Vitamin drops for babies and young children, these are suitable from birth to 4 years old
Eligibility

You will qualify if you are at least 10 weeks pregnant or you have one child that is under the age of 4. 

You must be receiving the below benefits to be eligible for healthy start

  • Income Support
  • Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
  • Child Tax Credit (your family annual income is £16,190 or less)
  • Universal Credit (only if your family's take home pay is £408 or less per month)
  • Pension Credit

You will also qualify for healthy start if

  • You are under 18 and pregnant (even if you are not claiming benefits)
  • You claim income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and you are over 10 weeks pregnant
  • You, your partner or your carer get Working Tax Credit run on only after you have reported you are working 16 hours or less per week. 

To find out if your family earns £408 or less per month from employment whilst claiming Universal Credit, look at your ‘take-home pay for this period’ on your monthly award notice.

What you will get and how to shop

You will get money added onto your healthy start card every 4 weeks.

You will get:

  • £4.25 each week of your pregnancy from the 10th week
  • £8.50 each week for children from birth to 1 year old
  • £4.25 each week for children between 1 and 4 years old

Your money will stop when your child is 4 years old, or if you do not get benefits that make you eligible.

You can use your card at the below places: 

  • Supermarkets
  • Convenience stores
  • Grocery stores
  • Drug stores and pharmacies
  • Markets
  • Dairy products stores
  • News dealers and newsstands
  • Freezer and locker meat provisioners (such as butcher shops)
  • Petrol stations

They must display a Mastercard symbol. The symbol is normally shown on the shop door or at the till. Ask an employee inside the shop if they take Mastercard if you’re unsure.

How to apply

To apply online, you will need

  • Name
  • Address
  • Date of birth
  • National Insurance number
  • Baby’s due date (if you’re pregnant)
  • Benefit award letter if you’re over 18 – make sure you enter the exact details shown on your benefit award letter

Apply online by visiting Get help to buy food and milk (Healthy Start) on the NHS website.

Apply by phone: 0300 330 7010
Apply by email: healthy.start@nhsbsa.nhs.uk

How to apply if you are not a British citizen

If you are not a British citizen but your child is. You might be eligible for healthy start depending on your immigration status.

You can get healthy start if all the following are true

  • Your family earns £408 or less per month after tax
  • You cannot claim public funds
  • You have at least 1 British child under 4 years old. 

Check if your child is automatically a British citizen. If you or your parents were born in the UK, you might automatically be a British citizen.

Public funds, guidance on what public funds are and whether you are able to receive help from them while you are living in the UK.

Your biometric residence permit (BRP) or your online immigration status will say if you cannot claim public funds. You might also have a letter from the Home Office about it. 

To apply for healthy start, ask for an application form via email. Only use this email address if you think you cannot claim public funds because of your immigration status. 

Email: Healthystartclaim@dhsc.gov.uk

Who to contact

Telephone
0300 330 7010 0300 330 7010
E-mail
healthy.start@nhsbsa.nhs.uk
Website(s)

Related Links

Related Videos

A Healthy Start For All on YouTube (13.27 secs)

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