If you're 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're eligible, you'll be sent a Healthy Start card with money on it that you can use in some UK shops.
The vouchers are now worth £4.25. For beneficiaries this means the following:
▸ A £4.25 voucher provided each week of their pregnancy (from 10 weeks)
▸ 2 vouchers, worth a total of £8.50 each week for children from birth to 1 year
▸ A £4.25 voucher each week for children between 1 and 4 years old
Some supermarkets are continuing to add value to the vouchers including Co-Op (topping up Healthy Start vouchers by £1), with Sainsbury's and Iceland extending their offers until August. (Sainsbury's are giving a £2 coupon towards their next shop whilst Iceland are offering a free bag of frozen veg when a Healthy Start voucher is used).
Healthy Start are launching a digital scheme that offers a prepaid card to those applying for Healthy Start instead of paper vouchers. The card will be automatically topped up every 4 weeks with your payment.
The benefits of moving to the new scheme include: a quicker decision on your application, you can use your card anywhere that accepts Mastercard® and sells the eligible healthy start food items, any money you do not spend will remain on your card and can be put towards healthy food and milk in the future (this is unlike the current voucher scheme where you must spend £4.25 or over in one transaction), the card is discreet, you can check your balance which helps with money management, and your payment will be automatically added to your card.
