Sep
11
WIC provides nutrition program for women, infants and children
Susan Lindsley 09/11/09
You may have seen the signs for WIC in a variety of stores, or gotten in line behind someone who is paying with WIC checks. But what is it? The WIC program is a special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children. When the federally funded program began in 1974, 88,000 people participated. By 2008, it had grown to 8.7 million people. Ten thousand four hundred and forty-eight people in Onondaga County used the program in 2008. Of those, 50 percent were children.
WIC serves low-income pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, as well as infants and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk. Participants must meet income guidelines, a state residency requirement and be individually determined to be at “nutrition risk” by a health professional. There are WIC offices throughout the county, including one right in Bayberry Plaza.
The program provides checks or vouchers that can be used in food stores for nutritious food such as milk, cheese, whole wheat bread, 100 percent juice, eggs, peanut butter, cereal, fruits, vegetables and iron-enriched infant formula. It also supplies participants with vouchers that can be used at farmers’ markets for fresh fruit and vegetables. This helps people to get the proper nutrition that they may not be able to get otherwise. Besides the supplemental food program, WIC also provides nutrition education and referrals for health care services.
Studies conducted by the Food and Nutrition Service prove that WIC is one of the nation’s most successful and cost-effective nutrition intervention program. The results are longer pregnancies, fewer premature births, fewer babies with lower birth weights, fewer infant deaths and greater chance of prenatal care.
The studies have also demonstrated the benefits for the children. At-risk children on WIC have diets higher in iron, vitamin C and vitamin B. There has also been a decline in iron-deficiency anemia from 7.8 percent in 1975 to 2.9 percent in 1985, which can be attributed to programs like WIC. All these benefits result in better nutrition for the children, which positively affects their growth and development, such as their vocabulary scores and improved memory. Finally, children participating in WIC have been shown to be more up-to-date on immunizations and to have more regular medical care. More information can be found on their website at fns.usda.gov.
In order to participate, a family’s income level must be 185 percent of the poverty rate. For example, a family of two (maybe a single mother and her child) would have to make less than $26,955 a year to qualify for WIC – less than $13 an hour. For a family of four, the income level has to be less than $40,793.
This is especially important to people who are working full-time at minimum wage jobs (now is $7.25 an hour). That comes out to $15,080 a year, which barely covers rent or mortgage, transportation, utilities and food. Clearly, these kinds of programs are needed.
Onondaga County has a significant population of working poor, people trying to provide for their families but not making enough to do so. This program gives the pregnant women the nutrition to deliver healthy babies and then for the infants and children under 5 years old to continue with the proper nutrition, giving them a great start in life.
CATEGORY: General Society
TAGS: WIC, Bayberry
TAGS: WIC, Bayberry