The support is available in the build up to Christmas. (Image: Getty)
A UK supermarket has confirmed a weekly boost for shoppers in the run-up to Christmas. Sainsbury’s has announced it will be the first chain to reintroduce a £3 weekly top-up for customers on the NHS Healthy Start scheme. It will offer eligible low-income families up to £18 to spend on healthy food over a six-week period.
The offer will run from six weeks from November 18. Sainsbury’s customers from across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland will receive a £3 eGift card to spend in store or online on fruit, vegetables, beans and pulses, as well as fresh, frozen, tinned and dried products each week.
The money is available to families enrolled in the NHS Healthy Start scheme, which provides support to help pregnant individuals and low-income families with children buy healthy food. To qualify for the Sainsbury’s support, you must have used both the NHS Healthy Start Mastercard, which is topped up every four weeks, and a Nectar card in the same transaction within the last year.
Eligible customers must apply by 11.59pm on Monday, November 9. They will then receive a £3 eGift card by email each week for six weeks from Wednesday, November 18.
Sainsbury’s said: “NHS Healthy Start is a government scheme that supports low-income families with young children across the UK to buy more healthy food through a free prepaid Healthy Start card that is automatically topped up with money every four weeks.
“Sainsbury’s trialled a top-up to Healthy Start in 2021 – before the scheme transitioned to a prepaid card format – and saw a significant impact on shopping habits.
Sainsbury’s has confirmed the top-up for eligible shoppers. (Image: Getty)
“Analysis by the Leeds Institute for Data Analytics, in partnership with IGD, revealed that Sainsbury’s customers redeeming a top-up coupon purchased an average of 13 more portions of fruit and vegetables per basket compared to those who did not.”
The move is part of Sainsbury’s plan to add thousands of tonnes of fiber and millions more portions of fruit and vegetables to UK diets. The supermarket also launched new Full on Fiber labeling across its products and continues to try and offer affordable pricing.
Nilani Srithran, Sainsbury’s head of healthy and sustainable diets, said: “We know our customers want to get more fresh fruit, vegetables and fiber into family mealtimes. We’ve seen the difference extra support can make for families on Healthy Start, with our previous top-up trial helping customers buy an average of 13 more portions of fruit and veg per basket.
“That’s why we’re bringing back our £3 weekly top-up in the run-up to Christmas, when family budgets can face additional pressures. I’d encourage everyone on the Healthy Start scheme to find out more.”
Shoppers can get up to £18 off. (Image: Getty)
Dame Diana Johnson, Minister of State for Public Health and Patient Safety, said: “Every child deserves the best possible start in life. That’s exactly why Healthy Start matters so much to this government, helping families to put healthy food on the table. I’m delighted to see Sainsbury’s bring back this additional support and I encourage other retailers to follow their lead so even more families can benefit.”
Anna Taylor, executive director at The Food Foundation, said: “It’s great to see Sainsbury’s adding such a generous top up to Healthy Start, and being the first mover in what we hope will be industry wide support for those on the scheme.
“This scheme reaches the most disadvantaged babies and toddlers in the country – and provides a vital nutritional safety net – but too many miss out on its benefits currently which is why we think the scheme should be urgently expanded.”