Helping eligible people access Healthy Start

Pregnant people, or those with children under the age of four, could be eligible for the Healthy Start scheme and receive help with buying food and milk.

While nearly 300 more eligible people in west Cheshire are now claiming Healthy Start compared to the start of 2023, more than £13,500 worth of support was still unclaimed in September 2023, meaning many people are missing out.

Through the Healthy Start scheme, 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 the following.

• 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.

How you could qualify
You can access the Healthy Start scheme if you’re at least 10 weeks pregnant, or you have at least one child aged under four, and receive any of the following.

• Child Tax Credit (only if your family’s annual income is £16,190 or less)
• Income support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Pension Credit (which includes the child addition)
• Universal Credit (only if your family’s take-home pay is £408 or less per month from employment)

What you’ll get

• £4.25 each week of your pregnancy (from the 10th week of your pregnancy)
• £8.50 each week for children from birth to one year old
• £4.25 each week for children between one and four years old

How to apply
You’ll need to apply online to access Healthy Start, even if you previously used paper vouchers through the scheme before it went digital.
Apply online today

Help spread the word
The Council and a range of partners have worked together on a local flyer to promote the scheme and highlight that some people in the area aren’t claiming what they’re entitled to.

Could you share this flyer through your own networks or encourage local organisations you know to place a copy in their community building?

Download a copy of the flyer