Food vouchers. Sainsbury’s will top up the existing government-funded NHS Healthy Start scheme by providing a £2 coupon every week over the next six months to customers who use a Healthy Start card in Sainsbury’s.
UK shoppers who use a Healthy Start card at Sainsbury’s will automatically receive a printed coupon worth £2 to use towards fresh, frozen and tinned fruit and vegetables during their next shop. Sainsbury’s first introduced the £2 top-up coupon in the first half of 2021, and reintroduced it throughout the winter to provide extra help to those who were struggling.
You can currently get £4.25 each week loaded onto a Healthy Start card. If you have a child under the age of one, you could get two vouchers a week, meaning that a £2 coupon every week over the next six months adds up to £52 worth of vouchers.
The top-up from Sainsbury’s will run from this Wednesday (October 12) to Tuesday, April 11, and the following products can be bought with the Healthy Start vouchers:
- 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.
How to Access The Food Vouchers
You need to be claiming certain benefits to qualify. This includes:
- 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)
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.”
To apply click here.
Further reading: Iceland Food Vouchers here.
