A Guide to the WIC Program

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a financial assistance program that was created to protect the health of low-income women, infants, and children who face nutritional risk. While managed at the federal level, WIC services are administered by several state agencies and authorized retailers to assure access to the appropriate health care. To learn more, here's a brief guide to WIC. 

The WIC Nutrition Program is a federally mandated program that's aimed at providing healthy food, referrals to healthcare professionals, and nutritional education to low-income pregnant and postpartum women alongside nutritionally at-risk infants and children. 

This program is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which is the same department responsible for school lunch and breakfast programs. 

The biggest benefit of participating in WIC services is the increase in health for both mothers and babies. Postpartum moms who utilize WIC services tend to have a healthier breastfeeding experience as they eat a higher ratio of fruits and vegetables while minimizing processed foods. It's also been found that children of women who participate in WIC have a stronger mental development by age two and have been shown to perform higher on reading assessments. 

WIC services are available to people of all backgrounds and provide benefits for infants up until their first birthday, children up until their fifth birthday, and women who are pregnant, postpartum up to six months after birth, and breastfeeding. 

Individuals interested in receiving WIC services need to meet the income guidelines and a state residency requirement. If evaluated based on income, individuals have to fall below 185% of the U.S. poverty income guidelines. They also need to be evaluated by a medical health professional and determined to be at nutritional risk. You can check your eligibility online.