Healthy Start scheme

The Healthy Start scheme offers prepaid food cards to women who are more than ten weeks pregnant or those with children under four.

If you are eligible, you'll be sent a Healthy Start card that you can use in some UK shops. Your benefit will be added to this card every four 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 four years old

Those eligible typically must also be on certain benefits, including:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Child Tax Credit with a family income of £16,190 or less per year
• Pension Credit
• Universal Credit with no earned income or total earned income of £408 or less per month for the family

However, if you are under 18 and pregnant, you may be entitled to a Healthy Start card regardless of whether you receive the above benefits.

More information about Healthy Start can be found on the Notts Help Yourself website.