Latest news with #NHSHealthyStart
Scottish Sun
26-05-2025
- Health
- Scottish Sun
How to get free milk from supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda
Scroll to see how you can get free fruit and veg too HELPING HAND How to get free milk from supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) EXPECTANT parents or those with young children may be able to get free milk from shops and supermarkets, thanks to a health eating scheme. The initiative also provides nourishing food for free including fruit, vegetables and pulses. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Get free milk for your children through the NHS Healthy Start scheme Credit: Getty The NHS Healthy Start scheme is available to those expecting a baby or with children under four. You'll also need be on selected benefits such as Universal Credit. If you're eligible you could get up to £442 a year for essentials to feed your family. The scheme also provides free vitamins to mothers and children. Here's what you need to know... Can I use Healthy Start? To be accepted for Healthy Start, you'll need to be on one of the following benefits: Child Tax Credit (only if your family's annual income is £16,190 or less Income Support Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance Pension Credit ( including the child addition) Universal Credit, if your family's take-home pay is £408 or less per month from employment Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) However, if you're under 18 and pregnant you can claim, even if you are not claiming any benefits. How do I get the free food? The funds to buy food is given through a prepaid card which can be used in any shop or supermarket that accepts Mastercard. This includes major supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, as well as many smaller food shops. The Healthy Start card is topped up every four weeks. How much will I get? You'll get £4.25 each week of your pregnancy from the 10th week, £8.50 each week for children from birth to one, and £4.25 each week for children between one and four. This works out as up to £442 worth of free food over a year. The scheme stops when your child is four, or if you no longer receive benefits. What can I use the card to buy? With the funds you can buy plain cow's milk or baby formula milk You can also be used to buy fresh, frozen, and tinned fruit and vegetables, as well as fresh, dried, and tinned pulses. You can also use the card to get free vitamin supplements. These are tablets for women and drops for children. How do I get the vitamins? Women can get Healthy Start vitamin tablets while they're pregnant and up to their child's 1st birthday. Children can have free Healthy Start vitamin drops from the age of four weeks until their 4th birthday. Children who are having 500ml or more of formula a day do not need Healthy Start vitamins. How do I apply? Apply for the healthy start scheme online on the government website. You can also print out a paper form from the Heathy Start website here or ask for one from your GP or midwife. If you can't apply online, or you need help applying, contact NHS Healthy Start on 0300 330 7010 or by emailing To apply, you will need to provide some basic details such as you name and address, plus your National Insurance number and benefit award letter. Are you missing out on benefits? YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to Charity Turn2Us' benefits calculator works out what you could get. Entitledto's free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit. and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto's data. You can use Policy in Practice's calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you'll have left over each month after paying for housing costs. Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.
Daily Mirror
18-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Parents could get £1,232 through little-known NHS scheme
This is how the scheme works and who is eligible Parents are being encouraged to explore a lesser-known NHS scheme. Those with children under four could be eligible for up to £1,232.50 to assist in purchasing fruit, vegetables, milk and infant formula, experts have said. UK baby brand Nuby is prompting families to check their eligibility for the NHS Healthy Start Scheme, following its survey of 1,000 parents, which revealed that: 37% say buying healthy food is their biggest financial challenge when feeding their child 27% struggle with the cost of providing multiple daily meals What exactly is the NHS Healthy Start scheme? The NHS Healthy Start Scheme aids eligible parents in buying essentials like milk, infant formula, fruit and vegetables. How much can you receive? £4.25 per week from the 10th week of pregnancy £8.50 per week for children under one £4.25 per week for children aged one to four This totals £1,232.50. Who is eligible to apply? You may qualify if you're at least 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under four and you're on Universal Credit or certain other benefits. Where can it be used? The funds are loaded onto a Healthy Start card, which can be used at supermarkets, grocery stores, pharmacies, markets, butchers and even some petrol stations - anywhere displaying the Mastercard symbol. When should you start weaning your baby? According to the NHS, you should start when your baby is around six months old. By this age, their digestive system is more mature and ready to handle solid foods. They'll also have developed better fine motor skills, meaning they can grab food and (hopefully) aim for their mouth. Their chewing and swallowing abilities also improve. How to start weaning your baby and what foods to feed them The NHS recommends starting with cooked, soft fruits and vegetables, which can be offered as finger foods, mashed or blended. If the fruit is already soft, like a banana, no cooking is required; just mash and serve. Next up, starchy foods. These can be mashed, cooked to a suitable texture or served as finger foods. For cereals and porridge, mix with breast milk, formula, or if your baby is over six months, pasteurised whole cow's, goat's or sheep's milk. From six months, babies also need protein-packed foods, which provide essential nutrients like iron and zinc. NHS-recommended first foods Vegetables Asparagus, avocado, broccoli, butternut squash, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, courgette, green beans, kale, parsnips, peas, peppers, spinach, swede. Fruit Apples, bananas, blueberries, kiwi, mango, melon, nectarines, oranges, papaya, peaches, pears, pineapple, plums, raspberries, strawberries. Starchy foods Baby rice, bread, chapatti, cornmeal, maize, millet, oatmeal, oats, pasta, pitta bread, porridge, potato, quinoa, rice, sweet potato, toast. Protein foods Beans, beef, chicken, eggs (stamped with the British Lion mark), fish (deboned), lamb, lentils, pork, pulses (such as chickpeas), tofu, turkey. How much solid food should you feed your baby to start with? There's no rhyme or reason to how much your baby will eat each day. Some days they'll finish their full plate but other days they'll turn their nose up at it all. That's why it's important to keep offering breast milk or formula alongside solid foods. Four tips to make baby weaning easier Use silicone moulds or ice cube trays to save freezer space Forget Tupperware, freeze purées in silicone moulds or ice cube trays instead. Not only does it save space, but you can easily defrost portion-sized cubes as and when you need them. Make more than you need and freeze it Batch cooking isn't just for adult meal prep; you can also do it for baby weaning food prep. If you're blending fruit or veggies, make extra and freeze it. You will thank yourself on those hectic days when you feel pushed for time. Plus, it saves money in the long run. Don't give up after a few tries – it takes at least 10 If your baby refuses to eat a new food, don't give up easily. The NHS says it can take 10 (or more…) tries for babies to get used to new flavours and textures. So, keep offering it and they might just surprise you. Try a baby suction bowl Unless you fancy a game of food frisbee, invest in a baby suction bowl. Stick it to their highchair tray and let them dig in without the risk of an impromptu bowl throw.
Times
30-04-2025
- Health
- Times
Times letters: Extending sugar tax to milkshakes and lattes
Write to letters@ Sir, The government should avoid being seen as clobbering poorer consumers ('Milkshake tax looms in broader sugar levy', Apr 29). Instead it should allocate the proceeds of this levy to programmes that directly help those consumers to access and afford more nutritious food, such as the NHS Healthy Start cards, free school meals and school holiday clubs. The Healthy Start weekly allowance of £4.25 toward fruit, vegetables, milk and pulses has been frozen for four years. The eligibility criteria are so tight as to disqualify some poorer families. Meanwhile tens of thousands of poorer children are eligible but are not registered for these cards because awareness of the scheme is very low. An increased allowance, alongside revised criteria and the
