Women, Infants & Children (WIC)

Name of Agency/Program: Women, Infants & Children (WIC)

Speaker: Jody Shriver
Director of Athens and Perry County

Type of Program: Nutrition Education Program

Funding source: Federally funded by USDA, each county applies for a grant annually through the Ohio Department of Health (ODH).

Purpose/Mission: To improve the health status and prevent health problems among Ohio's at-risk women, infants and children.

Role of Nutrition professional: WIC provides nutrition education, breastfeeding education and support; supplemental, highly nutritious foods such as milk, eggs, cheese, juice, cereal, beans, peanut butter and iron-fortified infant formula; referral to prenatal and pediatric health care and other maternal and child health and human service programs (examples: Head Start, Medicaid and Food Stamps). Nutrition professionals is in the charge of providing counseling for individuals and suggestions for community. WIC was set up in 2004 in Athens county. Nutrition professionals in this agency do not diagnose, they just provide nutrition counselling, and nursing service for moms. Dietitians give moms education and tell what they should do. Additionally, nutrition professionals have to make sure handouts are all current and keep updating. So the authorized foods on list are changing all the time. Another fuction of RDs is that they encourage people to choose organic foods. Farmer's market and groceries are used as intermediums to achieve this purpose. WIC often provides coupons for people in community. Take last year for example, 437 books ($15 each book) of coupons were distributed in Kroger.


Tips about Nutrition is provided online by WIC in Ohio and is as following:

• Stock up on a variety of healthy foods. Let your family members choose a snack that sounds good to them from what is offered.
• Eat together as a family. Talk and enjoy each other’s company rather than sitting in front of the television.
• Don’t give up!. It is important to offer your child a new food several times before he/she may choose to like it.
• Talk to your WIC health professional about portion sizes and foods that are right for your child at his/her current stage of life.
• Visit your local WIC clinic for healthy foods and recipe ideas.
  

I think this is a stable and reliable source for people to get nutrition education and support because it is funded by the government. Although the coupons distributed in last year was only about $6,000 in total, it is helpful and meaningful for people in Athens community.