Healthy Start: Improving uptake and understanding
10:30 – 11:30 on Wednesday 26 September
Healthy Start is about much more than vitamins, offering vouchers up to £3.10 per week to spend on milk, plain fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables, and infant formula milk for low income pregnant women and children up to 4 years old. In this webinar we will hear from different organisations across the UK who have:
- Helped improve the uptake of vouchers in their area
- Increased the number of retailers accepting vouchers
- Promoted the scheme to other relevant sector actors and those in need
- We’ll also cover how the rollout of Universal Credit has affected eligibility in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Speakers to be confirmed at the end of August.
We spoke with Jan Potter, Head of Health Improvement Wellbeing team for Livewell Southwest who said:
“Livewell Southwest, Plymouth City Council, midwifery services and all children’s centres in Plymouth are united in promoting the best start in life for all infants. As well as supporting and promoting breastfeeding, services have worked together to increase uptake of healthy start vouchers. The best way of ensuring pregnant women and young children receive adequate vitamin and mineral intake is to eat a varied and balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables. However, this is not always possible for a number of reasons and therefore taking free vitamin supplements provided via the government funded healthy start scheme is highly recommended. The scheme provides vouchers (for those who are eligible) which can be exchanged in any Plymouth children’s centre for free vitamin supplements. Vouchers can also be exchanged at local shops and supermarkets for a range of fresh/ frozen fruit and vegetables or milk. More information about the healthy start scheme is available from local midwifery, healthy visiting services or children’s centres”.
