Free milk, vitamins, fruit and vegetables and infant formula

You may be entitled to free milk, fruit and vegetables, vitamins and infant formula under the Healthy Start scheme.

Do I qualify?

You are entitled to Healthy Start vouchers if you are at least 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under four years of age and you or your family get one of the following:

Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Child Tax Credit (but not Working Tax Credit unless your family is receiving Working Tax Credit run-on only) and an annual family income of £16,190 or less in 2011/12

Working Tax Credit run-on is the Working Tax Credit you receive in the four weeks immediately after you have stopped working for 16 hours or more per week.

You also qualify if you are under 18 and pregnant, even if you don’t get any of the above benefits or tax credits.

How the vouchers are used

The scheme provides free vouchers that can be put towards the cost of:

milk
plain fresh or frozen fruit
plain fresh or frozen vegetables
infant formula milk (not follow on or soya formula)

Pregnant women and families getting Healthy Start vouchers can now spend them on plain frozen fruit and vegetables. This means that those on the Scheme can choose to spend vouchers on products like frozen peas or carrots as well as fresh fruit, vegetables and milk.

However, you can not spend them on frozen products containing added fat, salt, sugar or other ingredients – for example, oven chips or seasoned stir fry mixes.

The vouchers are worth:

£3.10 per week if pregnant
£6.20 per week for each baby aged under one
£3.10 per week for each child aged over one and under four years of age

Healthy Start Vouchers can be used at any shop displaying a Healthy Start window sticker. This includes all major supermarkets as well as many chemists, greengrocers, convenience stores and milk roundsmen. To find your nearest participating shops, you can visit the Healthy Start website or call the Healthy Start helpline on 0845 607 6823.

Visit the Healthy Start website

How to claim Healthy Start vouchers

You'll need to complete an application form and get your midwife, health visitor or registered doctor or nurse to sign it. You can request a Healthy Start application form by calling 0845 607 6823 and quoting reference HS01. Or, you can complete an application form online.

Apply online - Healthy Start website

How to get Healthy Start vitamins

You can also get free vitamins under the Healthy Start Scheme. There are free vitamin drops available for children from six months until their fourth birthday. Tablets are also available for pregnant women and women with babies up to one year old.

You do not have to complete a separate application form for vitamins. A green vitamin coupon is printed on voucher letters every 8 weeks, to prompt eligible people to claim their vitamin supplements. There will be one coupon for each person entitled to the vitamins which will clearly indicate which supplement they are entitled to.

In Northern Ireland, you can get the vitamins posted directly to your address. At present you cannot get Healthy Start vitamins through chemists or pharmacies here.

Therefore you should post your Healthy Start letter with the green vitamin coupon still attached to:

Business Services Organisation (BSO)
Healthy Start Vitamin Scheme
Pinewood Villa
73 Loughgall Road
Armagh
BT61 7PR

BSO will, upon receipt of your letter, post the vitamins directly to your address.

Information and advice

You should ask your midwife or health visitor for health information and advice about pregnancy, infant feeding, weaning and the benefits of milk, fruit and vegetables and vitamin supplementation.