When Schrece Graff’s son needed to try different formulas, WIC was there.
“Even now he's lactose intolerant so he can't have the whole milk ... so he has Lactaid which is even more expensive than regular milk," she said. "I wouldn't be able to just keep up with his normal dietary needs if it wasn't for WIC.”
When her daughter was underweight, WIC helped her purchase PediaSure shakes.
"That was an absolute blessing," she said.
A breastfeeding consultant helped Sabrina Kreinberg through supply scares and clogged ducts. The consultant was provided through WIC.
"I don't think I would have made up to 12 months without having her there to talk to me," she said.
Fifty years ago Pennsylvania introduced WIC, a federal program to help at-risk mothers and their children. Since then the program has helped millions of mothers and children in the Keystone State and across the country.
Maternal and Family Health Services (MFHS) has provided the program in the region since it began five decades ago. They just reached a milestone. The organization served 50,000 WIC participants monthly in 17 counties in Northeastern and parts of Southern PA.
"That's a huge milestone," said Shannon Hayward, Chief Operations Officer for MFHS. "And it's just a demonstration of the dedication of our staff, and their willingness to serve the clients and meet their needs and make sure that they get in for their appointments.”
The program is a public health success story, said Hayward.
"It has had amazing proven results with more positive birth outcomes, healthier children, healthier pregnancies, healthier moms," she said. "It is really the public health safety net for low income and at risk families."
WIC Origins
In the 1960s studies showed hunger was a major problem in the United States, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
A group of doctors met with government officials in 1968. They described young women, often pregnant, in their clinics with various ailments caused by lack of food. The White House held a conference on the issue in 1969 during Richard Nixon’s administration. A report from that meeting said special attention needed to be given to low-income pregnant women and preschool children.
In 1972 an amendment was added to the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to create WIC as a two-year pilot program.
The first WIC site opened on Jan. 15, 1974 in Pineville, Kentucky. By the end of that year, the program was in 45 states across the country. Nationwide, 88,000 families participated in WIC monthly in that first year. By October 1975, Congress established WIC as a permanent program.
Pennsylvania picked up the program that first year. The Allegheny County Health Department opened the first WIC clinic. The agency issued PA’s first WIC voucher on May 28, 1974, according to the state Department of Health.
In 2023, PA WIC helped 284,642 individuals.
Uplifting families
WIC provides Women, Infants and Children with access to nutritious foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support and referrals to other health and social services.
“Nutrition is the core of WIC, but it is so much more than that, because we connect moms to all kinds of services and resources that can help their family have a healthy start," said Haywood.
WIC Nutritionists connect families to early Head Start Programs to primary care doctors and pediatricians and other food resources.
Maria Montoro-Edwards, Ph.D., is president and CEO of MFHS. Her family used WIC when she was growing up.
"There's something about being engaged with WIC that really helps a family be grounded," she said. "That face to face with the nutritionist every three months is really impactful.”
Montoro-Edwards says WIC evolves. There’s now vegan, vegetarian and kosher options for food. They use cards instead of paper checks.
Haywood added telehealth is now part of the program.
"It is a public health safety net," she said. "So it means our communities are healthier and stronger when mothers and families are supported.”
And it's not just mothers who can apply for WIC. Parents, step-parents, guardians and foster parents of children under 5 can too. Working families may also qualify for WIC.
Visit mfhs.org for more details.
