Financial support / healthy start scheme

Page contents

• Start 4 life
• Healthy Start
• Healthy Start vitamins
• Sure Start maternity grant

Start 4 life

Start4Life 

Trusted NHS help and advice during pregnancy, birth and parenthood.

Healthy Start

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

To check if you are eligible for Healthy Start vouchers, use this new free online tool (takes less than 5 minutes)

An application form can be found on the Healthy Start website.

Healthy Start vitamins

To pick up your vitamins just take your Healthy Start card along to any local distribution centre to show you are on the Healthy Start scheme.  Distribution centres in South Gloucestershire include:

You can also visit the NHS website to search for locations outside of the local area.  Please note that distribution centres in South Gloucestershire do not sell Healthy Start vitamins to women and children not on the scheme.

Sure Start maternity grant

The Sure Start maternity grant is a one-off payment of £500 which helps towards the costs of having a child.  You usually qualify for the grant if you need help with buying things for your baby and if you or your partner are getting certain benefits.

You must claim the grant within 11 weeks of your baby's due date or within three months after your baby's birth.  Ask your doctor or midwife about the grant, you can also print off a claim form.