WIC program aims to provide young families with access to healthy food
FORT WORTH, Texas - It’s the 50th year of a federally funded food program that helps low-income families with children eat better. Still, the Women, Infants, and Children or WIC program wants to help more families put healthy groceries in their baskets.
Food is the fuel for life. But for many, the right type of food is priced out of reach.
FILE IMAGE - A shopper reaches for cottage cheese inside a grocery store in San Francisco, California, on May 2, 2022. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images
That’s where the WIC program can make a difference.
"WIC can serve children up until the age of 5 when a family is engaging in healthy eating habits. We also see that correlate with the health outcome for those family numbers in reducing, you know, helping to reduce chronic conditions going forward," said Dr. J’vonnah Maryman, the associate director of Family Health Services at the Tarrant County Health Department.
She said breastfeeding and its benefits beyond the baby are a big part of the WIC program.
"84% of WIC moms are likely to breastfeed, and we know that research shows breastfeeding leads to a decreased risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and breast and ovarian cancers in the mom, not to mention that children who are breastfed have a decreased risk of respiratory infections, diarrhea, ear infections, just those things that can give new moms more angst and anxiety when they are preparing to care for their infants and their children," she said.
Expectant mothers, parents, grandparents, guardians, and foster parents caring for children 0 to 5 years old can apply for the WIC program.
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"In Tarrant County alone, we serve through our WIC program 44,000 participants a month," Dr. Maryman said. "The WIC agencies across the state serve about 800,000 participants a month."
At TexasWIC.org, you can find all the qualifications and income guidelines that have been expanded to make it easier to be accepted into the program.
"If you are already receiving Medicaid, SNAP, or TEFAP, you already meet the income eligibility for WIC," Maryman said. "The need for WIC shows itself every year that we have folks enrolling. We know that there’s a need. We know that our populations are growing."
WIC aims to serve the growing population in a healthy way.
For more information, visit https://texaswic.org/.