Little-known rule means parents get £442 off at Tesco, Aldi, Asda, Sainsbury's

A little-known rule gives Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Lidl, Aldi, Sainsbury's shoppers up to £400 off supermarket shopping. A little-known benefit from the government can help hard-up mums and dads afford their groceries at supermarkets.

Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Lidl, Aldi, Sainsbury's and Iceland shoppers can get up to £442 to spend on weekly food shops - but 181,255 are missing out. An estimated, 181,255 households could be due the support, according to new figures released by Policy in Practice.

The Healthy Start scheme supports pregnant people and families with young children and can be used to fund groceries, including fruit, vegetables, and milk. The scheme provides a weekly allowance of £4.25 for people over 10 weeks pregnant, £8.50 for the first year of a child's life, and £4.25 a week for children aged one to four.

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To qualify, you must be getting Child tax credits (only if your family's annual income is £16,190 or less), Income support, Income-based jobseeker's allowance, Pension credit (which includes the child addition) and Universal Credit (only if your family's take-home pay is £408 or less per month from employment)

You will also be eligible for Healthy Start if you're under 18 and pregnant, even if you are not claiming any benefits, you claim income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and are over 10 weeks pregnant or you, your partner or your carer get working tax credit run-on only after you have reported you’re working 16 hours or less per week.

Shoppers can buy fresh fruit and veg, tinned or frozen fruit or veg, dried fruit, fresh, dried or tinned pulses, fresh or long-life pasteurised cow's milk, baby formula made from cow's milk and Healthy Start vitamins using the cash. The scheme is available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland have their own scheme called Best Start Foods.