Katie Braski Advocacy Morning Report

What is WIC
y WIC is a federal program run by the USDA , Food and

Nutrition Service y WIC provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low income women, infants, and children.

Where is WIC available

y The program is available in all 50 States, 34 Indian

Tribal Organizations, Puerto Rico, and US territories. y These 90 State agencies run 1890 local agencies and 9000 clinic sites

Who is Eligible?
y Pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women,

infants, and children up to age 5 are eligible.

y They must meet income guidelines, a state residency

requirement, and be individually determined to be at nutrition risk by a health professional.

What is Nutrition Risk?

y Two major types of nutrition risk are recognized for

WIC eligibility:
y Medically-based risks such as anemia, underweight,

overweight, history of pregnancy complications, or poor pregnancy outcomes. y Dietary risks, such as failure to meet the dietary guidelines or inappropriate nutrition practices.

y Nutrition risk is determined by a health professional

such as a physician, nutritionist, or nurse, based on Federal guidelines.

Financial Eligibility
y To be eligible on the basis of income, applicants

income must fall at or below 185 percent of the U.S. Poverty Income Guidelines y A person/family that participates in other benefit programs automatically meets the income eligibility requirements
y Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program y Medicaid

WIC Income Eligibility Guidelines

(Effective from July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012) 48 Contiguous States, D.C., Guam and Territories Persons in Family or Household Size 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Each Add'l Member Add Annual $20,147 27,214 34,281 41,348 48,415 55,482 62,549 69,616 +$7,067 Monthly $1,679 2,268 2,857 3.446 4,035 4,624 5,213 5,802 +589 TwiceMonthly $840 1,134 1,429 1,723 2,018 2.312 2,607 2,901 +295 Bi-Weekly $775 1,047 1,319 1,591 1,863 2,134 2,406 2,678 +272 Weekly $388 524 660 796 932 1,067 1,203 1,339 +136

*Pregnant women count as 2 (mom and unborn child) when calculating household size.

What Does WIC Provide?

y Nutrition Education y Individual counseling at each visit, classes are also available on subjects such as infant feeding, breastfeeding, dental health, and shopping on a budget y Breastfeeding promotion/support y Supplemental Nutrition y Families should expect to buy additional food in addition to the food WIC provides

Breast Feeding Support

y WIC mothers are encouraged to breastfeed their infants. y WIC mothers who breastfeed their infants are provided with counseling and breastfeeding educational materials in addition to support from peer counselors. y Breastfeeding mothers receive a larger quantity and variety of foods in their food package, than mothers who are fully bottle feeding. They are also eligible to participate longer y Breastfeeding mothers may also receive/borrow breast pumps to help support the initiation and continuation of breastfeeding.

Infant Supplemental Nutrition

y WIC encourages breastfeeding but provides formula

when mothers decide to bottle feed. y Utah WIC allows the following formulas without physician authorization
y Similac Advance y Similac Sensitive y Similac Soy Isomil y Similac Sensitive Spit up

Full Provision of WIC Formula and Food For Infants

Infants 0-3 months 26oz. Formula/day Infants 4-5 months 29oz. Formula/day Infants 6-11 months 20 oz formula/day, 24 oz infant cereal/month, 32 jars (4 oz. size) of infant food fruits/vegetables/month

Full Provision of WIC Formula and Food For Women and Children
y y y y

Eggs - 1 dozen/month Fruits/Vegetables - $6-$10 Cereal - 36 oz/month Milk - up to 4 gal/month

y (Children approximately 13 -17 oz/day)

y Juice - 1 gal/month y (Children approximately 4 oz/day) y Whole Grains - 1-2 lbs/month y Beans - 1 lb/month y Peanut Butter - 18 oz/month

2011 Food Changes

Participants must buy store brand foods for most foods

Infant Cereal
24oz/month Buy: Dry, 8 oz box Gerber, Beechnut Oatmeal Rice Mixed Grain/Multigrain Barley Whole Wheat Do Not Buy: With added formula, fruit, yogurt, probiotics or organic

Baby Food 32 jars

Buy: Single or mixed fruit and/or single or mixed vegetables 4 oz jar Gerber, Beechnut

4 oz 2-packs (Each 2-pack counts as 2 jars) Wal-Mart Parent s Choice Target Up & Up Do Not Buy: vegetables and fruits mixed together, medleys, dinners, desserts

Juice
Buy: Store brand/private label Unsweetened, 100% juice; single flavor only, size as printed on check Women: 12 oz frozen, Children: 64 oz container Orange, Grapefruit, Pineapple, Apple, Grape 64 oz refrigerated container for orange juice is allowed Tomato/Vegetable Juice 64 oz container Regular flavor only. Low sodium allowed.

Fruits and Vegetables

Buy: Dollar amount as listed on cash value voucher ($6-$10) Whole, pre-cut or packaged Salad greens in a bag Yams, sweet potatoes, gingerroot, taro root, coconuts, mushrooms, habanero peppers, garlic, and fresh salsa without added sugar or oil are allowed Organic allowed

Dairy Cheese
Store brand/private label y Block, domestic. May combine different sizes to y Do Not Buy: Deli, sliced, shredded, string, reduced fat, cheese food/spread/product

Eggs
Buy: Store brand/private label Medium, white Do Not Buy: Brown, cage-free, omega-3

Protein
Beans & Lentils
Buy: Store brand/private label 1 lb (16 oz) dry package or can y Do Not Buy: Flavored, bean soup mix, large lima, Mayocoba, mixed beans, refried beans, chili, baked beans, beans with meat, canned green peas, snap beans, green beans, wax beans

Peanut Butter
Buy: *Store brand/private label 18 oz creamy or crunchy Do Not Buy: Reduced fat, added honey/jelly, peanut butter spread, natural

Cereal
Buy: Store brand/private label, (12 oz sizes or larger). Boxes or bags in combinations equal to or less than amount printed on check. May buy infant or hot cereal (unflavored) as part of combination. Do Not Buy: Cold cereal box sizes smaller than 12 oz. Added fruit, low, or flavored cereals such as chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla Combinations should not exceed 36 Oz.

Additional Resources
y WIC also provides classes to teach women about food

selection and how to best use their vouchers y Recipes' for healthy meals

Resources
y http://health.utah.gov/wic/index.html y http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/