WIC: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is WIC?
How is WIC funded?
How is WIC administered?
How many people does WIC serve?
What are the benefits provided to WIC participants?
How does WIC help?
What is WIC EBT?
How are WIC benefits distributed?
Who is eligible for WIC?
Who gets first priority for participation?
What is the WIC infant formula rebate system?
What is the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program?
How do vendors become an authorized, WIC approved vendor?
Learn more?
What is WIC?
WIC stands for The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. It is a Federal food assistance program that was established in 1974 to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk.
How is WIC funded?
WIC is a Federal grant program for which Congress authorizes a specific amount of funds each year.
WIC is not an entitlement program such as Medicaid, so it does not receive the funds necessary to serve every eligible person.
How is WIC administered?
WIC is administered at the Federal level by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), under the USDA. WIC is administered at the state level through the 90 WIC state agencies, and operated through local agencies, clinical sites, and health departments. WIC is available in all 50 States, 34 Indian Tribal Organizations, American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Services might be provided at a variety of clinic locations including county health departments, hospitals, schools, and Indian Health Service facilities.
How many people does WIC serve?
In Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, approximately 6.2 million women, infants, and children received WIC benefits. For the first 5 months of FY 2021, States reported average monthly participation over 6.2 million participants per month. Of the 6.2 million people receiving WIC benefits in 2021, approximately 3.4 million were children, 1.4 million were infants, and 1.3 million were women.
What are WIC benefits provided to program participants?
WIC ensures good health and development by providing specific foods to supplement the nutritional needs of participants. Typical food packages include cereal, milk, cheese, eggs, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and juice, although specific items, products, alternatives, and serving sizes vary greatly between WIC agencies.
Other WIC benefits include:
- Breastfeeding Resources
- Nutrition education and counseling at WIC clinics
- Screening and referrals to other health, welfare and social services.
See more details on the WIC Benefits page, or visit here for more information.
What is WIC EBT?
Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) is an electronic system that allows a recipient to authorize transfer of their government benefits from a Federal account to a retailer account to pay for products received. EBT is currently being used in many States to issue food stamp, WIC, and other benefits.
Learn more about WIC EBT with the Electronic Benefit Transfer Guidance and Resources here.
How does WIC help?
WIC supplemental foods have shown to provide wide ranging benefits including longer, safer pregnancies, with fewer premature births and infant deaths; improved dietary outcomes for infants and children; improved maternal health; and improved performance at school, among others. In addition to health benefits, WIC participants showed significant savings in healthcare costs when compared to non-participants. Learn more about how WIC helps.
How are WIC benefits distributed?
In most WIC State agencies, WIC participants receive checks or vouchers to purchase specific foods each month that are designed to supplement their diets with specific nutrients that benefit WIC’s target population. In addition, some States issue an electronic benefit card to participants instead of paper checks or vouchers. The use of electronic cards is growing and all WIC State agencies are required to implement WIC electronic benefit transfer (EBT) statewide by October 1, 2020. A few State agencies distribute the WIC foods through warehouses or deliver the foods to participants’ homes. Different food packages are provided for different categories of participants.
Who is eligible for WIC?
Pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age 5 who meet certain income eligibility and State residency requirements are eligible. Additionally, the applicant must be individually determined to be at “nutrition risk” by a health professional or a trained health official. Find more details about eligibility requirements on the Participating in WIC page, or click here for more information.
The U.S. Food and Nutrition Service’s WIC Prescreening Tool can be used to help determine if you qualify for WIC.
Those who are interested in applying for benefits should contact their State agency to request information on where to schedule an appointment. Applicants will be advised on what to bring to the appointment in order to verify eligibility. Click here to find your State Agency’s contact information.
Who gets first priority for participation?
A system of priorities has been established for filling program openings. Once a local WIC agency has reached the maximum number of clients, openings are generally filled in the order of the following priority levels:
- Pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and infants determined to be at nutritional risk because of serious medical problems.
- Infants up to 6 months of age whose mothers participated in WIC or could have participated and had serious medical problems.
- Children (up to age 5) at nutritional risk because of serious medical problems.
- Pregnant or breastfeeding women and infants at nutritional risk because of dietary problems (like poor diet).
- Children (up to age 5) at nutritional risk because of dietary problems.
- Non-breastfeeding, postpartum women with any nutritional risk.
- Individuals at nutritional risk only because they are homeless or migrants, and current participants who without WIC foods could continue to have medical and/or dietary problems.
What is the WIC infant formula rebate system?
Mothers participating in WIC are encouraged to breastfeed their infants if possible, but WIC State agencies also provide infant formula for mothers. WIC State agencies agree to provide one brand of infant formula, and the manufacturer gives the State agency a rebate to reduce the cost to WIC participants. The brand of infant formula provided by WIC varies by State agency depending on each State’s rebate contract.
What is the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program?
The WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP), established in 1992, provides additional coupons to WIC participants to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at participating farmers’ markets. FMNP is funded through a Congressionally mandated set-aside in the WIC appropriation. The program has two goals: (1) to provide fresh, nutritious, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables, from farmers’ markets to WIC participants who are at nutritional risk; and (2) to expand consumers’ awareness and use of farmers’ markets.
How do vendors become an authorized, WIC approved vendor?
The Food and Nutrition Service administers the WIC Program at the Federal level, but State agencies are responsible for determining participant eligibility, providing benefits and services, and authorizing vendors. Each State Agency website will have more information on vendor application requirements.
Learn more?
More information can be found at www.fns.usda.gov/fns/.