NHS Healthy Start
Families are missing out on ‘Healthy Start’
At a time when daily essentials are getting more and more expensive and we are living through a cost-of-living crisis, we need all the support we can get.
Unfortunately, around 2000 families in Leeds are missing out on a scheme which could contribute to their household budget and help them buy fruit, vegetables and milk.
Overview of the scheme
Healthy Start is a food welfare scheme to improve the diets of pregnant women and children aged 1-4 years.
The Healthy Start Scheme is a government funded, means tested scheme that aims to improve diets and provide a nutritional safety net for low-income families in the UK. The scheme is available to pregnant women, who are more than 10 weeks pregnant or parent/carers who have a child under the age of 4 who receive state benefits. You can claim per child.
The Healthy Start scheme information is on page 2 of the Family Food leaflet:
Find out more about the card, and if you’re eligible, below:
You can use your card to buy:
- Plain liquid 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 get free Healthy Start vitamins and vitamin drops for babies and young children (from birth to 4 years old).
How much is the Healthy Start payment?
£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
Who is eligible?
To qualify for Healthy Start, you must be at least 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under 4 years (parent or carer), and be in receipt of:
- Income Support, or
- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, or
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, or
- Child Tax Credit (with a family income of £16,190 or less per year), or
- Universal Credit (with a family take-home pay of £408 or less per month), or
- Pension Credit (which includes the child addition), or
- You, your partner, or your carer get Working Tax Credit run-on only.
You also qualify if you are under 18 and pregnant, even if you don’t get any of those benefits or tax credits.
Non-British Citizens who have a British Citizen child, may get Healthy Start if all the following apply:
- They have at least 1 British Child under 4 years old.
- The family earns £408 or less a month after tax.
- They cannot claim public funds because of their immigration status or they do not have an immigration status.
Applications can be made online at www.healthystart.nhs.uk/how-to-apply/, or by emailing Healthy Start at healthystartclaim@dhsc.gov.uk, or by calling 0300 330 7010.
If you need help with the application process, please contact Digital Health Hubs – 100% Digital Leeds www.digitalinclusionleeds.com
If you would like some recipe inspiration – why not visit the Food Wise online recipe hub: www.foodwiseleeds.org
