What Can WIC Do For You?

The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program was started in 1972 after the Children's Nutrition Act of 1966 was passed. The goal of this policy of Congress was to provide safeguards for the nation's children and provide them with good food and nutrition through grants-in-aid. Then came WIC, a program for low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at a nutritional risk. This includes women who are pregnant with their first child.
 
Benefits
This program affects many people. Half of all infants in the United States are receiving WIC and about a quarter of the children aged 1-4 are using WIC. Because of the need for this program it became a permanent national program. Eligibility is based on your income level and it comes in the form of a voucher that lists what you can get and how much of each food you can get.
 
For many low-income families, WIC is the only way they can get by each month. Not only that but they would be eating food that is less nutritious because they couldn't afford the healthier items that WIC provides, but after talking to several people that receive WIC, I found that many of these people would not drink enough milk or have fresh fruits and vegetables if they didn't have this program because they simply couldn't afford it.

Over the last several weeks I have been posting about how nourishing the body while pregnant is the best way to provide a healthy life for a child's future because this will reduce the risk of other health complications later in their life. By having a program like WIC, people with lower incomes can still nourish their baby before birth and give that child a chance at a healthy life right from the start.
 
Here is a break down of the different programs that WIC has and what you would receive if you were a part of each category:

 Drawbacks
There are nutrition education classes that are a part of the WIC program to get the people educated and it helps them learn healthy from unhealthy and also what foods they should avoid. Many of the participants of WIC do not have transportation and it makes it difficult for them to attend the classes.

The people that are a part of the program are not fully aware of all the regulations of the program and may not know that if they will not use a voucher for something because they wont eat that food, or don't like a food to not use the voucher for that food, so it will leave more money in the program for others to use.

If your child needs special formula, they will cover it even if it ordered by the infants doctor; such as lactose intolerant infant formula. Unless they are on a feeding tube or other major issue, then you will have to pay for the special formula on your own.

Lastly, this is a grant based program and when they run out of money, no one new is approved-even people who may really need the assistance.

Do Something
What are your thoughts about this program? Does it meet the needs of those that are in the program? Does it include enough people? Or are there eligibility requirements to difficult to meet? What else could the program change to make it better?

If you have an opinion, it matters! Contact a legislator today and let them know what your ideas are. For representatives in MN click here. Enter your Address, City, State and Zipcode and it will give you links to webpages of representatives in your area.
For representatives in other states search Google for legislators in your state.

If you have never written to a representative before and want to, here is an example on how to write an effective letter to a congressman:
http://www.asbmb.org/Advocacy/advocacy.aspx?id=14388

To learn more about the WIC program and its regulations please look through these sites. They have a lot of really great information about the program and its requirements.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic

http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fanrr-food-assistance-nutrition-research-program/fanrr27.aspx#.Un5iI9fnbIU