Women, Infants, and Children
WIC is the special supplemental nutrition program where pregnant women, new mothers, and young children learn about nutrition and how to stay healthy. It is especially important for pregnant women to enroll in WIC as soon as they find they are pregnant. Studies show that the WIC foods provided to pregnant women help to reduce the number of premature and low birth-weight babies. WIC is an equal opportunity provider.
For more information call (512) 972-4942
What are WIC Benefits?
Classes on healthy eating
Clients receive individual nutrition counseling and nutrition classes. Many clinics offer classes especially for children. Men who have family members participating in the program are welcome to attend nutrition classes.
Some of the topics clients can learn about are:
- Eating healthfully during pregnancy for mom and baby
- Infant and child nutrition — healthy foods for happy children, picky eaters, watching your child’s weight, and lots more
- How to get the most out of your food dollars
- Valuable parenting skills
- Stages of child development
- The importance of childhood immunizations
- Tips for pregnant teens
- Common infant problems, such as colic, constipation, and crying
- Walk with WIC
Nutritious foods
WIC provides vouchers each month which are taken to grocery stores and used to buy nutritious foods. WIC foods include iron-fortified infant formula and infant cereal, iron-fortified adult cereal, vitamin C–rich fruit and vegetable juice, milk, eggs, cheese, beans, and peanut butter. Different food packages are issued to different clients. For example, mothers who are totally breastfeeding their babies without formula are issued tuna and carrots in addition to other foods.
Breastfeeding Education and Support
Clients receive encouragement and instruction in breastfeeding. In many cases, breastfeeding women are provided breast pumps free of charge. WIC helps clients learn why breastfeeding is the best start for their baby, how to breastfeed while still working, dad’s role in supporting breastfeeding, tips for teens who breastfeed, how to pump and store breast milk, and much more.
Who qualifies for WIC?
- Pregnant women
- Postpartum women & breastfeeding women
- Infants
- Children up to age five
WIC is for families: married and single parents, working or not working. If you are a father, mother, grandparent, foster parent or other legal guardian of a child under 5, you can apply for WIC for your child.
