Michigan’s WIC program marks 50 years of feeding mothers and children

This year, the Michigan Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program is celebrating a milestone of feeding hundreds of thousands of Michigan families over the last 50 years. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued a special tribute in July to commemorate the years of support WIC has provided to Michigan families.

The federal government began funding the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children in 1974. Michigan began operating its own WIC program that same year — the first clinic opened in the Upper Peninsula’s Delta-Menominee region, with another clinic opening in Kalamazoo shortly thereafter.

Now, more than 200,000 pregnant or postpartum mothers, babies, and children under the age of five receive WIC benefits through the state program each month. Households at or below 185% of the federal poverty line are eligible.

“In the last 50 years we have served so many within the state of Michigan. We do a great job at continuously elevating the program and changing our food guide to make sure that it’s ethically accessible and correct and making sure that we are meeting the needs of all those that we serve,” Michigan WIC Director Christina Herring told the Michigan Independent.

Spring Lake resident Kaylee Freeman said WIC has provided her and her family of eight extra “breathing room” since they moved to Michigan from Las Vegas in 2018. She said her family has been on and off WIC for about three of the last six years.

“Financial stress is debilitating, and I believe that WIC has truly alleviated that,” Freeman said.

Freeman recently started her own doula practice, and her husband, Charles, works as the dean of students at Walden Green Montessori public charter school, but prior to that, she was a stay-at-home mom and her husband was a teacher.

When they were planning to move to Michigan, Freeman said, she and her husband had no idea how their budget was going to accommodate their growing family. Her kids’ ages range from 1 1/2 to 11 years old — at the time of their move, they already had three children.

She had never heard of WIC until her sister-in-law, who works at a local WIC clinic, mentioned the program to her.

“Honestly, that was the linchpin that kind of helped me go, OK, I think we can make this move to Michigan,” she said. “Right away, found the program, and they were so kind and sweet and got my kiddos enrolled, and yeah, it’s been wonderful.”

In addition to providing families with extra food on the table, the program aims to improve the health of mothers and children through nutrition education and counseling, breastfeeding support services, and referrals to local health providers.

WIC has been shown to improve health outcomes for its recipients. The USDA reports that WIC reduces infant mortality, decreases low birth weight deliveries, and lowers the rate of iron deficiency anemia.

Only a few food options were available for WIC participants at the start of the program, but they can now choose from around 2,200 products when shopping, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. There are now more than 1,400 locations at which grocers and farmers accept WIC, making the options more accessible.

“Over time, the program has basically been able to not only continue to support those that we serve, but make life so much easier,” Herring said.

Two of Freeman’s children are currently enrolled in the WIC program, and they receive a combined $52 for fruits and vegetables, in addition to a specified number of food items such as cereal, juice and dairy products.

Freeman said WIC shopping is fun for her children because they love to try various types of produce such as dragon fruit and pomegranates, things that wouldn’t normally fit into her grocery budget.

Technological advances have also allowed WIC administrators to ease the process for their clients. Michigan WIC was one of the first state programs to move away from paper coupons, in 2007, and go electronic, according to the MDHHS. The WIC mobile phone app is also continuously updated for families to use to scan items at the grocery store and verify on the spot if an item meets WIC guidelines.

Looking ahead to the next 50 years, Herring said she’s hoping the department can incorporate electronic advancements in more ways. She said the department is in the process of creating an electronic system through which families can use WIC for online shopping. She expects that to roll out in the next couple of years.

“I can just foresee it being more friendly as far as the electronic world, being able to not have paper or just being able to do it all through a cell phone or the online shopping experience,” Herring said.