Friday, 28 August 2009
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Changes to WIC Checks
I have been with the Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program for about 4 months. It's a wonderful way for women with babies and younger children to get the healthy foods we need. I also get the opportunity to attend nutrition classes and I have found them to be extremely helpful.
The last time I went to my appointment, we learned that we would be getting more food on our checks and different kinds of it. The babies would get baby food and the mothers now had the option of getting whole wheat bread or brown rice. I was thrilled! My son goes through baby food like nothing, and I always wondered why WIC checks didn't cover them previously. We did lose the infant juice, however, but I feel we gained more with the baby food.
We also got a voucher for fresh fruit and vegetables. Perfect timing because the farmers' markets are in full swing. I'm not allowed to buy white potatoes or canned vegetables with salt added. Apparently, people have no problem getting enough white potatoes in their diet.
I'm glad that the federal government has made these changes--they are very welcomed and much appreciated. The changes have been in effect for less than a month now, so grocery stores might be confused if you come to the checkout line with a different set of WIC goods. Be sure to show them your check and your list of approved WIC foods and the confusion should clear up.
Do you use WIC? How do you like the new changes?
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Comments (6)
No, I don't use WIC as of now. I'm kind of torn over it. While I know that's it's meant for a lot more families than just those who really are poor and it would be nice to have some extra grocery money to spend on those healthy things, I also feel like it too close to being on welfare. I know it's not welfare, but I don't know... Growing up I was taught that going on welfare if you were able to work was wrong. We were on WIC when I was young, so that wasn't really considered welfare. And during my entire growing-up years, we were always below the poverty line but never applied for welfare, even though there was eventually 10 children to feed. And then something happened to my dad (his own fault) and he was not able to live with the family for over a year. Since we lived on a farm, he was not able to help out there either and the responsibility fell to us older girls, the hired hand, and our grandpa to keep things going. Eventually, we decided to sell the dairy cows since we girls no longer wanted to be dealing with them 24/7. Long story short, since we had no regular income with cows gone, my sister and I wanted to get jobs off the farm so we could support the family. Of course, that was not ok with my control freak dad, so my parents decided to "punish" (they never called it that, but that's what it was) the government for what they did to my dad and go on food stamps. We girls hated the idea. But we enrolled and started getting $1200 a month in food stamps.
Ever since watching my parents do a complete 180 and work things to their advantage, the idea of ever going on welfare or anything like it has left a bad taste in my mouth. So, do you think I'm crazy and dumb? I don't know either.@Mom2Be - Haha, I don't think you're crazy or dumb. I welcome any comments, short or long, from you. WIC income guidelines are much higher than for any other governmental program. It ends up amounting to living above the poverty line. I feel like I also have to mention it's more of a nutrition program than a welfare program. But after reading your comment, I can understand why governmental assistance would leave a bitter taste.
I drink so much milk--it's ridiculous. If I ever went vegan, that would be the hardest thing for me to give up. With WIC, I can get a lot of milk and I really appreciate that. At my last appointment, I had to take a nutrition class and it ended up being really informative. I was surprised because I thought I had this food group pyramid down pat. That's another reason why I like WIC.
Before Carlos got this new job, he was unemployed for 6 months. We had to go on food stamps to get food for myself and Giovanni. Now we're back on our feet and I'm proud to say we're no longer on the food stamps program.
Is the fresh fruit new in your state? I know it is has been around in PA for a while and I always thought it was fantastic!
Im also always glad to hear about the people who are using it for the right reasons!
@der_lila_Stern@xanga - Hmm, I'm not sure. I think it is, but we only get the fresh fruit in August.
@RoAngie467 - interesting. Im pretty sure it is all summer in PA. Anything is better than nothing! I love getting stuff from the farmers' markets!
@der_lila_Stern@xanga - Yes, I do too! The food is so much tastier. And it's much more environmentally-friendly to purchase from farmers' markets.