What is the WIC Program?

The USDA's Women, Infants, and Children Federally Funded Program

Aug 14, 2009 Katherine Brind'Amour

The WIC Program provides nutrition education and healthy supplemental foods to pregnant or nursing women and their young children, provided they qualify.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) supplies federal grants to each state for the administration of the WIC Program.

What is WIC?

WIC stands for Women, Infants, and Children, and its aim is to provide nutrition education, supplemental foods, and health referrals to low-income women and their infants and children provided there is a demonstrated nutritional need.

Who Qualifies for WIC?

Applicants must qualify in three areas: "category," income, and nutritional risk. Categories covered under the program include women (pregnant or post-partum), infants, and children (up to 5 years old).

Pregnant women, breastfeeding and post-partum women, infants, and children under the age of 5 can qualify for WIC if their total household income level meets the program's cut-offs and they have a nutrition risk.

Currently, the income cut-off is at about 185% of the federal poverty level and takes family size into account. Families may also qualify based on their approval for participation in other governmental assistance programs, such as TANF and food stamps.

Sample nutritional risks or needs that can be identified as qualifiers for applicants include eating fast food too frequently, being anemic, not eating enough fruits and vegetables, having gestational diabetes, and being over/underweight.

How do People Apply for WIC?

There are thousands of state and local agencies throughout the nation where women and families with young children can apply for WIC. The WIC Program's website lists a variety of WIC contact information, including toll-free numbers for states and local divisions of the program and additional web addresses.

Once an applicant has found the closest clinic or office in his or her geographic region that offers WIC services, a simple phone call to pre-screen for eligibility or to set up an appointment should be all that is necessary to get on the way to receiving WIC benefits.

What Does WIC Offer as Benefits?

In addition to periodic personalized nutrition education for each member of the family who is participating in the WIC Program, clients receive monthly checks that can be exchanged for foods at participating grocery stores and farmer's markets.

While women, infants, and children each receive different food packages that are covered by their checks, many healthy options are available to qualified clients. Infants can receive formula and baby food (mothers can receive breast pumps at most clinics, as well), while women and children receive checks that cover cereals, fruits and vegetables (starting in October 2009), dairy products, beans or peanut butter, whole grain products (starting in October 2009), fruit juice, and canned fish (for some women).

Information and Resources

For more information on WIC, please visit the Official WIC website.

For tips on healthy eating for breastfeeding mothers, see this Suite101.com article, "Healthy Eating for Breastfeeding Women."

For information on healthy eating during pregnancy, see this Suite101.com article, "Eat for Two, but Don't Overeat During Pregnancy."

To find out if you might be at risk for gestational diabetes, see this Suite101.com article, "Gestational Diabetes Risk Factors."

The copyright of the article What is the WIC Program? in Nutrition is owned by Katherine Brind'Amour. Permission to republish What is the WIC Program? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

WIC Offers Healthy Foods for Women and Kids

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