Sainsbury's is offering eligible shoppers £52 to spend on food as part of the Healthy Start scheme, run by the NHS. People who have signed up to the scheme can get an extra £2 top-up voucher every week for a period of time to go towards their shop.
Through the scheme, members receive £4.25 a week, which is put onto a Healthy Start card. For anyone who has a child that is under one year of age, they could be able to get two vouchers a week, as reported by the Mirror.
Healthy Start is designed to provide monetary support during the cost of living crisis to families and pregnant women on a low income with at least one child under the age of four. Items available to purchase with the extra cash include milk, fruit, vegetables, instant formula, tinned pulses and some multivitamins.
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The £2 weekly voucher will be rolled out by Sainsbury's over the next six months, starting this Wednesday (October 12) and running until Tuesday, April 11, 2023. Over that time, the vouchers will add up to a total of £52 and will be in addition to the £4.25 provided each week by the NHS scheme.
This isn't the first time the scheme has been introduced. The retailer first launched the £2 top-up coupon back in 2021, in a bid to support families during the February half-term. But it has now made a comeback to help those struggling amid rising bills during the winter and Christmas period.
Ruth Cranston, director of corporate responsibility and sustainability at Sainsbury’s said: “We know that times are tough for millions of families across the country, and that the rising cost of living is causing uncertainty for many of our customers, so today we’ve announced that we’ll be topping up the Government funded NHS Healthy Start scheme by £2 for the third time.
“As part of our brand promise Helping Everyone Eat Better, we believe that everyone deserves to eat well, and the cost of healthy food shouldn’t be a barrier to this. We hope this additional support will ensure that good, quality food is accessible for everyone.”
Who is eligible for the Healthy Start scheme?
You might be entitled to use the Healthy Start scheme if you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have a child under four.
You can check your eligibility and how to apply by heading straight to the NHS Healthy Start website.
You need to be claiming certain benefits to qualify. These include:
Child Tax Credit (only if your family’s annual income is £16,190 or less)
Income Support
Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
Pension Credit (which includes the child addition)
Universal Credit (only if your family’s take-home pay is £408 or less per month from employment)
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (but only if you are over 10 weeks pregnant)
Working Tax Credit run-on (this is the Working Tax Credit you receive in the four weeks immediately after you have stopped working for 16 hours or more per week)
Or, if you’re under 18 and more than 10 weeks pregnant, you’ll get Healthy Start vouchers until your baby is born regardless of whether you claim benefits or not.
Parents used to be sent paper vouchers but anyone who applies now will be sent a physical card instead.
Only certain products can be bought with the Healthy Start vouchers, including:
Cow’s milk
Fresh, frozen or tinned fruit and vegetables
Infant formula milk
Fresh, dried, and tinned pulses
Free vitamins
You also need to check where they can be spent, as not all stores accept the Healthy Start vouchers. Some of the most well-known retailers that accept them include Aldi, Lidl, Asda, Morrisons, Tesco and Sainsbury's.
You can find your nearest shops that accept them using the Healthy Start tool on its website. Families in Scotland aren't eligible for Healthy Start and must apply for help through Best Start Foods instead.
The money stays on the card for 16 weeks, with any unused cash returning to Healthy Start. You can only use the card in-store though - not online.
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