WIC is a federal education and supplemental nutrition program for low-income pregnant and postpartum people, as well as children up to the age of five.
KBIA’s Rebecca Smith sat down with Anne Strope, the administrative coordinator with Missouri WIC, to talk about the program and how some recent changes are trying to make WIC more accommodating to participants’ needs.
Editor's note: This Q&A has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
Rebecca Smith: Can you just tell us a little bit about WIC and about the need for it in Missouri?
Anne Strope: There are still so many people out there that would qualify for our services and really benefit from our services.
Over the past 50 years, there's been lots of research that continuously proves that being on the WIC program improves the health of the participant, in the time they're with WIC and beyond.
People don't know how much WIC has grown, especially in the last four years. They think it's still, you know, this voucher check system and it's cumbersome and it’s embarrassing at the store because you're always holding up the line, and that's not the case anymore.
And so, it's really trying to get that word out more about the changes, and how we're improving that accessibility to our participants.
Smith: What are some of those changes that have happened in the last four years?
Strope: So one of them is moving off of our checks system into what we call our eWIC card, which is an EBT card. It's like a debit card.
And so, before you had checks, and you had to present these checks, and you had to sign it, the cashier had to sign it, and you had to get everything at the same time. So, if you had four gallons of milk in a month, you got four gallons that day.
But we rolled out our eWIC card, and with that, participants can get benefits throughout the month whenever they need and the PIN that comes with their card, acts as the signature.
And so, it makes it a little bit more streamlined at the stores. It makes it less obvious that you are a participant, which is a good thing.
And in October of 2022, we added over 700 items to the approved food list that we have here in Missouri.
Another really cool thing I want to tell you about we joined the WICShopper app, and this is a smartphone application that's free.
Then our participants can upload their card information to their app. They can see what benefits they have, they can track what they have left more easy, and some of them even get appointment reminders through the app.
Smith: What else should people know about Missouri WIC? Maybe people who've never heard of it before and aren't sure if they qualify, or maybe people who are worried about that stigma?
Strope: You were there for your child, and WIC is there for you.
If you're struggling to make ends meet, and you're worried that your child has eaten mac and cheese and hotdogs for the fifth day in a row, this is things that WIC can help with because WIC can provide those nutritional foods and allow them to try new things.
We actually got a bump in how much allowance people get for fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. We've had participants tell us, “Oh, I get to actually buy a kiwi and have my kids try it because we have the ability to do that now and I finding my kids love lots of different fruits and vegetables.”
If you don't know much about WIC, think of WIC as more of a resource in your back pocket.
Just because WIC is for Women, Infants and Children doesn't mean you have to be a woman to apply. If you are a father, a grandparent, a guardian, a foster parent, any kind of caregiver — if you have children under the age of 5 in your care, they could qualify for benefits.
For more information on how to apply for WIC in Missouri, visit the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services guide.
