Families urged to apply as new WIC guidelines open benefits to more Alabamians

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Sarah, an Alabama mother of four, shops for groceries with vouchers from WIC, a supplemental food assistance program. (Anna Claire Vollers / avollers@AL.com)

New Women, Infants and Children (WIC) guidelines mean more Alabama families may qualify for benefits from the supplemental nutrition program.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services published an update Jan. 25 to the poverty guidelines, which are used to determine program income eligibility requirements for the WIC and Medicaid programs.

Alabama WIC Program Director Amanda C. Martin said this year's guidelines may open up the number of participants the Alabama WIC program can serve.

"I could not begin to say how many more women, infants, or children could qualify," she told AL.com. "WIC is encouraging families to make appointments and we can do a full assessment to include income eligibility and determination of nutrition risk."

To qualify for WIC, applicants must have a gross income at or below 185 percent of the U.S. poverty income guidelines.

The new Alabama guidelines are as follows:

Family Size *

Annual

Month

Week

1

$21,978

$1,832

$423

2

$29,637

$2,470

$570

3

$37,296

$3,108

$718

4

$44,955

$3,747

$865

5

$52,614

$4,385

$1,012

* For a pregnant woman, count each unborn baby in the family size.

For comparison, here are last year's WIC income eligibility guidelines:

Family Size *

Annual

Week

1

$21,775

$419

2

$29,471

$567

3

$37,167

$715

4

$44,863

$863

5

$52,559

$1,011

Martin said the Alabama WIC program's average year-to-date caseload from Oct. 1, 2015 to Feb. 29, 2016 was 130,262. In addition to the income requirements, recipients must live in Alabama and be seen by a health professional at a WIC clinic.

"If a family is not eligible for WIC, a social worker in their county could direct them to food banks or other charitable institutions that could assist them in addition to the SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) program through the Department of Human Resources," said Alabama Department of Public Health spokesman Arrol Sheehan.

WIC is available to pregnant and breastfeeding women, new mothers, as well as infants or children under the age of 5. Pregnant women and children ages 1 to 5 may buy eggs, cheese, juice, cereal, whole grain bread or brown rice, beans, peanut butter and fresh fruit and vegetables through the program.

Breastfeeding women may receive the same items as pregnant women and children, plus canned tuna or salmon, extra milk, cheese and eggs. Formula, cereal, fruits and vegetables are available to infants.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said approximately 8.3 million women, infants and children received monthly WIC benefits during fiscal year 2014. Children received more WIC benefits than infants or children each month at 4.32 million.

States reported average monthly participation just below 8.2 million per month for the first three months of fiscal 2015. The WIC program, which is funded by grants from the federal government, also provides health screening, nutrition and breastfeeding counseling, immunization screening and referral, substance abuse referral, and other services.

The initiative began in 1974 with 88,000 participants and now serves more than half of the infants in the U.S. WIC is available today 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.

For information on WIC clinic locations or how to apply, click here.

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