The council are encouraging families who are struggling with food insecurity to sign up to the ‘Healthy Start Scheme’.
The number of people struggling with food poverty in Wirral is skyrocketing. The latest findings show 28% of locals are grappling with food insecurity, which equates to around 90,133 people.
Against this backdrop, the local authority are encouraging some of the most vulnerable – especially pregnant women and parents of young children – to sign up to the government’s ‘Healthy Start Scheme’. The initiative looks to help parents afford necessities such as milk, fruit, vegetables, pulses and first infant formula.
Through the programme, children under one are entitled to a weekly payment of £8.50 while pregnant women and children under four receive £4.25 per week. Though these figures don’t seem high, it adds up to around £1,200 per child up to the age of four – as Tesco says ‘every little helps’.
While helpful, the introduction of this scheme isn’t new – it was first established in 2006. Even though it has been in effect for 16 years there are people in Wirral who still aren’t utilising it. Research from the council shows up to a third of families could be eligible for the financial support.
‘When it comes to raising a young family, every penny counts,’ Cllr Graeme Cooper, chair of Wirral’s adult social care and public health committee said. ‘Last year, local families missed out on around £348,000 which could have been spent on items such as food, milk and first infant formula. They also missed the opportunity to receive free vitamins.’
Details about how to find out if you could be eligible for the scheme can be found on the NHS website, as well as in this explainer video from Wirral council.
Once a family is accepted, they will be given a pre-paid credit card, which has money added to it each month automatically and any money that isn’t spent carries over.
In related news:
Safeguarding concerns highlighted in ‘State of the Nation’ report
Leave a Reply