Thousands of families miss out on healthy food benefit due to IT failures

The benefit, worth up to £442 a year, can be spent on fruit, vegetables, milk and formula. Photograph: Kumar Sriskandan/Alamy

Campaigners are urging the government to fix the NHS Healthy Start scheme as the cost of living crisis bites and food price inflation hits household budgets.

The benefit, which helps low-income parents and pregnant women pay for fruit, vegetables, milk and formula, has been plagued with glitches since it switched from paper vouchers to a digital card last year.