NHS Healthy Start scheme

Help to purchase healthy and nutritious foods to give your children the very best start in life

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

Visit the NHS Healthy Start website to check your eligibility and start your application.

Free Healthy Start vitamin drops for children up to the age of 4, and vitamin tablets for pregnant or breastfeeding women are available to collect from your local Family Hub or Children’s Centre.