Healthy Start Scheme
Many families in Northern Ireland who are eligible for the Healthy Start Scheme, which provides vouchers to help buy food and milk, are not availing of it.
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
How much you’ll get
You’ll get money added onto your Healthy Start card every 4 weeks.
You’ll get:
- £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
Details are here: Healthy Start Website
How to apply (at healthystart.nhs.uk)
Last Updated: 28/05/2024
