A prepaid card to help buy milk, fruit, vegetables, pulses and infant formula if you're pregnant or have a child under 4 and get certain benefits.
Many people who are entitled to support never claim it. Check who qualifies, how much you could get and how to make your claim through the official channel.
The rules depend on where you live in the UK and on your household’s circumstances.
What Healthy Start offers
- Prepaid card: Use the card in shops that accept Mastercard.
- Healthy food: Buy milk, fruit, vegetables, pulses and infant formula.
- Free vitamins: You can also collect free Healthy Start vitamins.
- Under-18s: Pregnant under-18s can qualify without getting benefits.
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Who can get it | People at least 10 weeks pregnant or with a child under 4 who get certain benefits such as Universal Credit (with a low income limit) |
| How much | £4.25 a week, or £8.50 a week for children under 1 |
| How it's paid | Money added to a Healthy Start card every 4 weeks |
| How to claim | Apply online on the NHS Healthy Start website |
| Where | England, Wales and Northern Ireland (Best Start Foods in Scotland) |
Key points
Prepaid card: Use the card in shops that accept Mastercard.
Healthy food: Buy milk, fruit, vegetables, pulses and infant formula.
Free vitamins: You can also collect free Healthy Start vitamins.
About NHS Business Services Authority
Healthy Start is run by NHS Business Services Authority. Claims are made free of charge through the official government channel.
We explain the rules independently and then send you to the official page to claim. We are not a government website.
Amounts and rules can change. The decision on your claim is made by NHS Business Services Authority.