Nursery World - Concern young children missing out on Healthy Start scheme, as figures show a quarter of households with under-fours skip meals

The Food Foundation is calling on ministers to do more to raise awareness of the Healthy Start scheme and increase its value and eligibility, after it failed to meet the Government’s own target for take-up among low-income families.

Campaigners are calling for a rise in the value of Healthy Start vouchers, which give low-income families access to fresh fruit and vegetables PHOTO Adobe Stock

Just over six in ten families eligible for Healthy Start – part of the UK Government’s benefits scheme targeted at families with children under the age of four and pregnant women – currently use it, according to the latest official figures.

NHS BSA, which operates the Healthy Start scheme on behalf of the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), has missed its target of 75 per cent uptake for Healthy Start, with just 64 per cent of eligible parents and carers on average accessing the scheme across England, Wales and Northern Ireland (NHS Digital, 31 March 2023).

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