The West Virginia
Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Public Health, Office of
Nutrition Services today announced participants in the Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) will receive a temporary
benefit increase for the purchase of additional fruits and vegetables.
Through $490
million in support to the WIC program from the American Rescue Plan Act of
2021, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has offered a boost to
the cash-value benefit amount for the months of June, July, August, and
September. This will allow the West Virginia WIC Program to temporarily
increase the benefit to $35 per month for each eligible participant.
The current
monthly WIC cash-value benefit is $9 per child, $11 for pregnant or postpartum
women and $16.50 for breastfeeding women. WIC clinics will begin to distribute
the increased benefits on June 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021.
“Investing in WIC
helps address food insecurity, a critical issue faced by many West Virginia
families during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Heidi Staats, State WIC Director.
“The USDA funding more than triples the fruit and vegetable benefit to allow
purchase and consumption of more canned, frozen and fresh fruits and
vegetables.”
The West Virginia
WIC Program has a long-standing history of improving the overall health and
nutrition of its participants. The program provides women, infants, and
children up to the age of 5, who are at nutritional risk, with healthy foods to
supplement their diets as well as breastfeeding support, nutrition education
and health care referrals. WIC offers certification, benefit issuance,
breastfeeding support, and nutrition education virtually during the COVID-19
pandemic.
For more
information about the WIC Program or to apply, visit dhhr.wv.gov/WIC.