Nursery World - Marcus Rashford urges more low-income families to sign up for food voucher scheme

In an open letter, the footballer and child food poverty campaigner calls on health professionals to spread the word about the Government's Healthy Start scheme, in a bid to increase take-up among eligible families.

Marcus Rashford says that many families do not realise they qualify for Healthy Start vouchers, and are missing out on the scheme's benefits

In the letter, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), Mr Rashford explains that more than 40 per cent of families eligible for the voucher scheme – those in receipt of a welfare benefit and who have at least one child under four or are pregnant, are still not registered.

The Government’s Healthy Start scheme provides eligible pregnant women and families with free vouchers worth £4.24 a week to exchange for milk, infant formula, fruit, vegetables and pulses.

The footballer and food poverty campaigner calls on healthcare professionals to help boost take-up of the Healthy Start scheme by ‘communicating and educating people’ about its benefits.

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