Guide · Benefits · Scotland
Best Start Foods Scotland Guide 2026/27 -- Prepaid Card for Healthy Food
Best Start Foods is a Social Security Scotland prepaid card payment that helps pregnant women and families with young children on a low income buy healthy food. It is Scotland's equivalent of the Healthy Start scheme that continues to operate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Key facts
- Administered by: Social Security Scotland
- Who it's for: Pregnant women and families with children under 3, on a qualifying benefit
- Paid as: A prepaid card, topped up regularly
- Can buy: Milk, fruit, vegetables, pulses and infant formula
- Counted as income for other benefits: No
- Scottish equivalent of: Healthy Start (used in the rest of the UK)
How Best Start Foods works
Eligible families are issued a prepaid payment card, which is topped up on a regular basis for as long as the family continues to meet the eligibility conditions. Unlike a cash benefit, the card can only be used to buy a specific set of healthy food items -- it cannot be withdrawn as cash or spent on other groceries or household goods.
Who qualifies
You can generally qualify for Best Start Foods if you are pregnant, or have a child under 3, and you or your partner receive one of a set of qualifying benefits -- Universal Credit (subject to an earnings condition), Child Tax Credit, Working Tax Credit, Income Support, Pension Credit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance. Pregnant women under 18 can qualify in their own right, without needing to be on a qualifying benefit. The precise earnings thresholds attached to Universal Credit eligibility are reviewed periodically, so check the current conditions on mygov.scot.
What the card can be used to buy
The Best Start Foods card can be used at most UK supermarkets and many smaller retailers that accept it, to buy:
- Plain cow's milk
- Fresh, frozen, dried or tinned fruit and vegetables
- Fresh, dried and tinned pulses
- Infant formula milk
It cannot be used for other food items, household products, or converted to cash.
How it compares with Healthy Start
Best Start Foods replaced the Healthy Start scheme in Scotland, following the devolution of certain social security powers. Both schemes share the same broad aim and prepaid card model, but Best Start Foods is delivered by Social Security Scotland with its own eligibility rules, application process and payment amounts, which can be reviewed and changed independently of the Healthy Start scheme used in the rest of the UK.
Effect on other benefits and reporting changes
Best Start Foods payments are not counted as income for Universal Credit, tax credits, Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction. Payments stop once a child turns 3, and you should tell Social Security Scotland promptly if your qualifying benefit ends, your income changes, or your family circumstances change, to avoid an overpayment that would later need to be repaid.
How to apply
Apply online, by phone, by post or in person through Social Security Scotland. It is worth applying for Best Start Grant at the same time if you may also qualify, since the two are separate payments with different eligibility windows and neither is applied for automatically just because you receive the other.