Healthy start - Services and support

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

If you are eligible, you’ll be sent a Healthy Start card with money on it that you can use in some UK shops. We’ll add your benefit onto this card every four weeks.

You can use your card to buy –

• plain liquid cows 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 four years old

You can benefit from –

• £4.25 each week of your pregnancy (from week 10 of your 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

Your money will stop after your child turns four years old, or if you no longer recieve benefits.

You can also get free Healthy Start vitamins.

If you’re receiving a qualifying benefit and are pregnant or have parental responsibility for at least one child under the age of 4, you can apply online now for the NHS Healthy Start card