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The federal government funds the WIC program, which stands for Women, Infant, and Children. If you need help you will need to apply at agencies that are located in your state, as WIC is administered locally. This nutritional and food assistance program provides free food to qualified individuals and families. In order to be eligible for aid, applicants must meet income guidelines that are established by the federal government and individuals applying need to be pregnant women, must be a new mother, and have infants or children under age five years of age. Several million individuals across the nation currently receive food from the Women, Infant, and Children program.
The federal government provides states funds to run the program. While each state may be able to slightly modify the terms and conditions of the assistance they provide, in general the WIC programs will be able to help families and individuals by providing them with financial assistance and debit cards for buying healthy supplemental foods and groceries from WIC-authorized vendors. The vendors will be determined at the state level. In addition, one of the main conditions of the program is that when applying participants are required to agree to receive nutrition education. The program can even help families and individuals with finding healthcare and other community services that can provide help during difficult times.
The exact listing and types of food provided will vary by state. However, in general the food items provided to participants for free by WIC are milk and some dairy products, juice (single strength), eggs, breakfast cereal, cheese, fresh produce including fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, natural fruit juice (not syrup), whole wheat bread, fish (canned), canned fruits, and legumes (canned and dry). Various other groceries and food can be offered as well. The previous list is just a sampling of what can be obtained from vendors and grocery stores.
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One of the significant differences between the federal government funded WIC program and other food assistance programs and organizations that provide groceries is that participants will be required to receive nutrition education and counseling along with the free food and grocery vouchers. The nutrition education that is provided to families will include topics such as appropriate infant feeding, healthy eating, shopping practices, and breast-feeding.
While the federal government does fund the program, as indicated it is run and administered at the local state level. So the exact application process and conditions to the program may vary a little by state. State government agencies are responsible for determining exact participants eligibility and the application process, and they are also responsible for providing benefits and services. In general, the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Program will help the following.
If an individual has previously applied for and currently participates in other state or federal government benefit programs, or if the family member has other immediate family members who participate in the federal government Food Stamp Program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or Medicaid, they will automatically meet the eligibility requirements of the WIC program. But they still should call the state agency to formally apply for WIC, or ensure there are no hold ups in the process.
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