Healthy Start Food and Vitamins Promotion – great success but more to do!

Back in October, we told you about 'Healthy Start' vouchers, and we have an update for you:

As a result of our campaigning, in partnership with Early Years, health visitors and others, the number of families in Hertfordshire getting the vouchers has increased from 3,555 to 4,871 in just 1 month. As a percentage of those entitled, we have gone from being 10% below the national average in September to being 15% above it by November. We now have almost 66% of eligible households getting the vouchers they are entitled to. The annual gain in extra income for these families since September is over £300,000!

However, there are still one third of eligible applicants in Hertfordshire – around 3,000 families - missing out on approximately £200 a year each. Some supermarkets are also offering additional money off shopping for those using the healthy start vouchers in their store.

So, if you know someone who is at least 10 weeks pregnant or has a child under 4 years old, they could be entitled to Healthy Start Vouchers worth £3.10 per child per week (£4.25 per week from April 2021), to spend on milk, fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables, and instant formula milk. You can also use them to buy pulses and certain canned fruit and vegetables.

Pregnant women under 18 years old qualify whether or not they are entitled to a qualifying benefit. Otherwise, to be eligible they should be in receipt of certain means-tested benefits. You can check eligibility on Gov.uk's Healthy Start website.

You can also use Money Advice Unit’s benefits checker on Hertfordshire County Council's website, and access free information about benefits you might be missing-out on.