Sainsbury’s customers in the fruit and vegetable aisle
Sainsbury’s will be the first retailer to offer Healthy Start Scheme customers with a top-up since the NHS transition to a prepaid card format in 2022
Those on the Healthy Start scheme may be eligible to receive up to an extra £18 to spend on fruit and vegetables, beans and pulses* in the run up to Christmas
The move forms part of Sainsbury’s ambition to add thousands of tonnes of fibre and millions more portions of fruit and veg to UK diets by 2030
Tuesday 20 October 2026 – Sainsbury’s has today announced it will reintroduce its Healthy Start top-up for low-income families with young children in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with users of the scheme eligible to apply for an additional £3 a week towards fruit, vegetables, beans and pulses for six weeks. It is the first retailer to offer this additional support following the scheme’s digital transition in 2022 and hopes this will be the first step towards an industry-wide initiative in support of those in the scheme.
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. Analysis by Leeds Institute for Data Analytics, in partnership with IGD, revealed that 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 that didn’t.**
Eligible customers can sign up to receive a £3 eGift card by email each week for six weeks from 18 November, which can be used in store and online. The gift card can be spent on fruit, vegetables, beans and pulses, including fresh, frozen, tinned and dried products. Those interested must register HERE by 11:59pm on 9 November 2026.
Nilani Srithran, Sainsbury’s Head of Healthy & Sustainable Diets, said: “We know our customers want to get more fresh fruit, vegetables and fibre 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.”
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, 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 to 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.”
The move forms part of Sainsbury’s wider ambition, announced in June, to add thousands of tonnes of fibre and millions more portions of fruit and vegetables to UK diets, helping make healthier choices easier and more accessible for customers. This year, Sainsbury’s has also launched new Full on Fibre labelling across its products and continues to focus on making healthy everyday products affordable, with 75% Aldi Price Match products healthier of better for you on average.
Sign up here: https://sainsburyshealthystart.argosrewards.co.uk/campaign/claim/HealthyStartPromotion.
For more information and full T&Cs visit: https://corporate.sainsburys.co.uk/purpose-in-action/healthy-start-vouchers/.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
*Must have shopped at Sainsbury’s in the past 12 months using their Healthy Start Mastercard and Nectar Card in the same transaction. The gift card must be used within 7 days of receiving.
**Smart use of supermarket data - Smart Data Research UK
About Sainsbury’s
Offering delicious great quality food at competitive prices has been at the heart of what we do since John James and Mary Ann Sainsbury opened our first store in 1869. Today, inspiring and delighting our customers with tasty food remains our priority and our purpose is clear – we make good food joyful, accessible and affordable for everyone, every day.
Our focus on great value food and convenient shopping, whether in-store or online is supported by our brands – Argos, Nectar, Tu Clothing, Habitat, Sainsbury’s Bank and Smart Charge. Sainsbury’s has almost 600 supermarkets and over 800 convenience stores. Argos is a leading digital retailer and is the third most visited retail website in the UK, with over 70 per cent of its sales starting online. Argos is conveniently available for customers to collect from hundreds of Sainsbury’s stores. Digital and technology enables us to adapt as customers shop differently and our profitable, fast-growing online channels offer customers quick and convenient delivery and collection capability.