WICbits: What is WIC?

Whenever I tell someone where I work, I get a half dozen questions ranging from “What’s that?” to “My friend was telling me that she saw a liquor store that accepts WIC. What exactly does WIC give people?”

Since I happen to like my job–and I know that lots of people have questions about it, I figured I would answer some of the most frequently answered questions here, on my blog.

WHAT is WIC?
WIC, more properly titled the “Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children”, is a federal nutrition program administered by state and local agencies.

WHAT does WIC do?
WIC provides 1) nutrition education, 2) food packages, and 3) referrals.

What does “Food Packages” means?
Our “food packages” are specially tailored for different times of life and try to target the most vital nutrient needs in these different times of life. For example, for children our standard packages include a fruit and vegetable voucher (for a certain dollar amount worth of any vegetable except white potatoes), a certain amount of milk (whole if under age 2, reduced- or low-fat otherwise), eggs, beans or peanut butter, 100% fruit juice, whole grains, and breakfast cereal. These foods specifically work to meet children’s protein, calcium, iron, and vitamin needs. Clients can purchase only WIC approved items. They may not purchase candy, pop, cigarettes, alcohol, or potato chips with their WIC package. Neither can they purchase TV dinners or macaroni and cheese. They get exactly what is on their checks (or card, if they live in a state who uses electronic debit-type cards for food packages), nothing more.

WHO is eligible for WIC?
In order to be eligible for WIC, one must meet the following criterion:

1. Meet categorical criterion: be a pregnant woman, a post-partum woman no less than 6 months after delivery, a breastfeeding woman up to one year after delivery, an infant (age 0-12 months), or a child (age 1-5 years)
2. Meet income qualifications: have a household income within 185% of the federal poverty line
3. Meet residency requirements: be a resident of the state in which the program is administered
4. Have a nutritional risk

What is nutrition risk?
WIC has specific risk codes which professionals assign to applicants based on a diet questionnaire and client interview. These codes have different levels of severity, which help to prioritize eligible applicants should there be a waiting list for available WIC funds. Examples of risk codes include overweight or obesity, inadequate weight gain during a pregnancy, inadequate vitamin supplementation, or improperly diluted formula. Because the majority of women, infants, and children in the United States are at nutritional risk, we do also have a code for “Presumed nutrition risk” if a specific risk cannot be found. This is the lowest priority code, and honestly, I don’t know that I’ve ever used it. Applicants always have at least one clear nutrition risk.

HOW can you, being a fiscal conservative, justify working for a government program like WIC?
Actually, there aren’t a lot of government programs quite like WIC. Unlike most other government “welfare” programs, WIC isn’t an entitlement program. In other words, just because someone is eligible for WIC doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed WIC. WIC’s funding is not guaranteed by the federal government. WIC has to reapply for funding every year–which means they need to continually provide proof that their program is actually accomplishing something. And accomplish something we do. A number of studies show that for every dollar spent on WIC, as much as 3 dollars is saved in Medicaid spending. WICs targeted nutrition education and food packages means healthier kids–and less government spending on health care. I can justify working for WIC because I know that WIC is ultimately reducing government expenditures.