WIC seeks more families

Statewide, only 57 percent of those eligible participate in the federal nutrition program. And that number is dwindling after new rules started last year.

By JOUNICE L. NEALY

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 13, 2000

Shaunell Williams got milk, cheese and eggs for herself and three children several years before a federal nutrition program made its guidelines more strict.

Even after the new rules for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program went into effect last year, Ms. Williams was not discouraged. In fact, last week, she brought her 1-year-old daughter, Da'Nia Sherman, to the health department in St. Petersburg for a follow-up visit, which included a finger prick.

"It got on my nerves a little bit," said Ms. Williams, 22, about the additional paperwork, which mainly requires proof of income. "But it wasn't too impossible that I didn't think it was worth it."

Local administrators of the WIC program want to see more people like Ms. Williams in their offices.

Around the Tampa Bay area, the number of participants has dropped since last year, prompting officials to actively promote WIC services, which target low- and moderate-income families. WIC offers nutrition counseling, WIC checks to be used at grocery stores for specific foods, information on breast-feeding and referrals to other health or social service programs.

In some counties, WIC officials have been canvassing neighborhoods, contacting pediatricians and school principals, and putting on seminars at apartment complexes to explain how the program works.

Administrators want to dispel the myth that only women can benefit from WIC. They also want to diffuse incorrect assumptions that you must be on welfare or unemployed to qualify for WIC.

"The communication is not out there since the change, people are not enrolling," said Nii Botchway, a program analyst for Pinellas County's WIC and Nutrition program. "I feel for the children in the community who are not being served."

Statewide, only 57 percent of eligible participants are actually receiving benefits, officials say.

The state figures, comparing July 1999 to July 2000, show Hillsborough dropped from 23,128 participants to 19,915. Pinellas dropped from to 12,100 participants in July, down from about 13,400 in July 1999. In Citrus. the numbers dropped from 2,134 to 1,789; Hernando declined from 2,849 to 2,535; and Pasco slipped from 8,534 to 7,287.

Steve Watson, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service, Southeast Region, said the numbers dropped because of the income documentation requirement.

"Up until last year, it was an option for states to require income documentation requirement," he said. "(But) the requirement was instituted last year to require income documentation. When that happened, participation dropped."

The new rule went into effect Sept. 1, 1999, to ensure that the services were going to people who truly needed it. Clients are required to bring proof of identification, income and residence. Those applying must be physically present, including the children.

But the department recognizes special circumstances, such as migrant workers. "There are ways to get on the program if they don't have documentation," said Cathy Hastings, a Pinellas senior public health nutritionist supervisor.

"Now the other factor is there is a perception among low-income Americans that if they work, they are not eligible for WIC and that is the case in some programs," Watson said. "But they might be able to qualify for WIC because the income eligibility guidelines are slightly higher."

For example, the total income for a family of four must be no more than $31,543 a year. A pregnant woman counts as two family members.

Unlike women, men, foster parents or guardians are not able to get food for themselves, but they can apply for benefits for children. That little-known fact may be keeping a lot of people away, Botchway said.

He has heard men say that "when they come here it's all women, but actually it's a program for them as well," Botchway said.

The WIC program, which began in 1974, was designed to give nutrition-related care to infants, children under the age of 5 and women who are pregnant, breast-feeding or postpartum. WIC gives checks that are redeemed specifically for milk, cheese, eggs, peanut butter, formula, juice and other foods. The idea is to promote nutritional health for pregnant women and good diets for children.

Pregnant women, for example, receive about $40 worth of food each month and parents receive about the same amount for children.

"I have eight children and just the cost of milk alone" makes the program worthwhile said Susan Whitton, 39, of St. Petersburg. "We're thinking of getting a cow but the city ordinance won't allow it," she said with a laugh. Whitton has not been daunted by the change in rules either.

But Botchway said he also found that some eligible clients are discouraged by the certification process, which can take an hour or two.

It involves, filling out paperwork, blood tests and height/weight measurements for the children, counseling from a nutritionist and getting the WIC check. The process has to be repeated about every six months for each person receiving the benefits to make sure the mother's and child's needs are being met.

But "I think they've gotten more efficient," Whitton said. There is now an express WIC check center that is for clients only picking up the checks, but Whitton said that even going through the entire recertification process is smoother.

"You just seem to get through quicker."

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright