UK groups urge Healthy Start expansion after 750,000 pregnant women and children miss out

The Food Foundation has found that 750,000 pregnant women and young children from low-income households are missing out on Healthy Start, a UK government scheme that was developed to provide essential nutrition. 

More than 100 organizations, including the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, Feeding Britain, Save the Children UK, and retailers such as Sainsbury’s and Co-op, have joined the London-based charity in their call on the government to expand Healthy Start eligibility. The Food Foundation points to British public figures, noting that pregnant women and children struggle against rising food prices. 

The new campaign briefing’s findings come ahead of the government’s Autumn Budget next week. The Food Foundation says that pregnant women and children under five cannot be left behind, especially as, since September 2026, the government has expanded Free School Meals in England to reach every child in a Universal Credit household.

Healthy Start covers England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, while Scotland runs Best Start Foods.

“Expanding Healthy Start to all families on Universal Credit and to every child under five would close this unacceptable gap and turn the government’s wider early-years ambitions into healthier childhoods,” comments Anna Taylor, executive director of The Food Foundation.

Identifying the blind spot

The 2006 Labour government established the Healthy Start scheme to help low-income families afford healthy foods in pregnancy and a child’s early years.

However, The Food Foundation points out two rules that currently prevent families in need from receiving this support. 

Only Universal Credit households with pregnant women, babies, or young children earning a monthly income of £408 (US$546) or less qualify for Healthy Start, notes the charity. The support stops when the child turns four years old, before it starts school and can access Free School Meals, The Food Foundation flags.

The new campaign briefing says this gap explains why 750,000 pregnant women and children are missing out.

Call for investment

The Food Foundation’s campaign briefing also suggests that expanding Healthy Start to all Universal Credit families could lead to a return on investment of £2.36 (US$3.16) for every £1 (US$1.34) spent, which amounts to £7.7 billion (~US$10 billion) net over 10 years.

The briefing estimates that expanding to all Universal Credit families up to age five would cost an estimated £200 million (US$268 million).

The benefits include reductions in food insecurity, increased household disposable income, and wider economic gains.

British public figures Jo Frost, Emma Thompson, and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, alongside more than 100 organizations across sectors, are urging the government to expand the Healthy Start eligibility to all pregnant women and children on Universal Credit. 

They are also calling for extending eligibility to all children under five so that they receive support until starting school.

Sainsbury’s has already planned a top-up to Healthy Start for the period up to Christmas, which The Food Foundation hopes will lead to an industry-wide initiative to support families under the scheme and prompt government action. 

Food inflation and insecurity

According to UK government data, food and non-alcoholic beverage prices have risen by around 39% since August 2021.

The Food Foundation underscores that this price increase means that the poorest fifth of households with children now need to spend 85% of their disposable income to afford government-recommended diets.

The charity warns that one in five of these households with children under five is facing food insecurity, while low-income households are more likely to cut out fruit and vegetables when budget shopping.