Michigan Women, Infants and Children
Each month, 4,356 moms, infants and children in Clinton, Gratiot and Montcalm counties receive nutritious foods and other services from the Michigan Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program.
WIC is a Federally-funded program that serves low- and moderate income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants and children (under age 5).
Participants receive an electronic benefits card (EBT) for purchasing nutritious foods, such as milk, cheese, eggs, fortified cereal, peanut butter, whole grain breads and tortillas, fruit and vegetable juices, fresh fruits and vegetables, and formula. Additional services include breastfeeding support, nutrition education, healthcare referrals, health counseling and immunizations. WIC also provides coupons to purchase locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables at farmers’ markets through the Project Fresh program.
There is no doubt that WIC has a profound effect on families. “Being a single mother, I couldn’t make it without WIC,” said one client.
“I work full time and still have a hard time making ends meet. WIC has been a lifesaver.”
“WIC has been very beneficial,” said another client.
“My children and I would be in a very tough spot without it.”
WIC has a proven track record of demonstrating a positive effect on pregnancy outcomes, and child growth and development. Research shows that the earlier a pregnant woman receives nutritional benefits from WIC, the more likely she is to seek prenatal care and deliver a normal weight infant. For every dollar spent by this program, more than three dollars in subsequent health care costs are saved.
Additional benefits include:
· Higher rates of immunizations against childhood diseases.
· Better vocabularies and digit memory scores among four and five year olds in early childhood compared to children who did not participate in WIC.
· Lower rate of anemia among children between the ages of 6 months to 5 years.
· Significant improvement in children’s dietary intake of vitamins and nutrients.
· Significant increase in the number of women receiving adequate prenatal care.
· Dramatic decrease in the infant mortality among Medicaid beneficiaries.
· Improvement in weight gain and dietary intake in pregnant and postpartum women.
· Decrease in low birth weight and pre-term births.
To find out if you qualify, or if you have questions about the WIC program, visit www.mmdhd.org or call:
Clinton County branch office: 989-224-2195
Gratiot County branch office: 989-875-3681
Montcalm County branch office: 989-831-5237
WIC is an equal opportunity provider.