Healthy Start

Get help to buy food and milk (The Healthy Start Scheme)

NHS Healthy Start Scheme (Wales)

Healthy Start is a government scheme to support those who are pregnant, and young families to access healthy food, milk and vitamins (note that this guide only relates to healthy food and milk.)
Applications are made by families online and a pre-paid card used to buy healthy products is sent by post. This prepaid card is refilled every 4 weeks with the payment, it can be spent that month or spent on a larger shopping order.
The prepaid card can be used in any store that sells the specified products and accepts Mastercard©.

What items can be purchased?

• Fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables
• Fresh, dried or tinned lentils
• Cow's milk
• Baby formula milk

What is Healthy Start?

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. We'll 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

For more advice and information on how to apply for Healthy Start, visit:

NHS website www.healthystart.nhs.uk