Helps

WIC

How

United States Department of Agriculture

Improve the 

health of you

and your family
2 

Call your 

local health 

department to 

see if you, your 

baby, or child 

are eligible to 

get WIC program 

benefits.

Check out the web-based WIC Prescreening Tool and see 

if you are eligible for WIC benefits. Please note that this is 

not an application for WIC. To apply for WIC benefits, you 

must make an appointment at your local WIC agency. 

For more information, please view http://www.fns.usda.gov/

wic/howtoapply/eligibilityrequirements.htm. 

How WIC Helps

• WIC helps by improving the health of 

nutritionally at-risk low-income women, 

infants, and children. WIC services are 

provided at no cost to you.

Who WIC Helps

• Pregnant women

• Moms up to 6 months after the baby is born, 

if they are not breastfeeding

• Moms up to 1 year after the baby is born, if 

they continue breastfeeding

• Babies up to their 1st birthday

• Children from age 1 up to their 5th birthday

What WIC Provides

• Nutritious Foods

• Nutrition Information

• Breastfeeding Support

• Healthcare Referrals

• Community Program Information

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WIC foods are good 

sources of important 

nutrients to help you 

and your children grow 

and develop.

WIC foods include baby food, breakfast cereal, fruits and 

vegetables, juice, eggs, milk, cheese, peanut butter, whole-wheat 

bread and other whole grains, dried and canned beans/peas, soybased beverages and tofu, canned fish, and infant formula.

The WIC food package provides you with some of the foods you 

need for your diet. It supplements the foods you buy. WIC staff 

can help you plan to make healthy choices for yourself and your 

family. If you are homeless, tell the WIC staff. They may be able 

to provide WIC foods that do not need cooking or refrigeration.

If you are breastfeeding and your baby receives no formula from 

WIC, you may receive a greater quantity and variety of foods to 

support your breastfeeding.

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Partner with 

WIC staff to 

meet your goals 

such as...

Healthy Eating

Breastfeeding

Healthy 

Weight Gain

Physical Activity

Regular Healthcare

and Vaccines

Healthy Cooking Dental Care

Food Safety

Shopping 

on a Budget

$
WIC Encourages 

Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is a special 

time for everyone. The 

entire family can 

be part of the new 

baby’s life. Breast 

milk is the best 

food for your 

baby’s health. It 

has just the right 

balance of vitamins, 

minerals, and other 

nutrients needed for 

your baby to grow well. 

Breastfeeding helps to 

establish a secure and loving 

bond between you and your baby 

and offers you many positive health benefits as 

well, including a reduced risk of diseases such as 

breast cancer and diabetes.

While breastfeeding is 

natural, it is also natural 

to feel a little unsure of 

yourself at first. If you have 

questions or need help, call 

you local WIC staff. They 

can help you meet other 

breastfeeding mothers 

(peer counselors) and 

breastfeeding experts you 

can talk to.

How You Can Succeed

• Discuss your plans to 

breastfeed with your 

healthcare provider, WIC 

office, family, friends, boss, 

and child care providers.

• Ask family and friends to 

support your decision to 

breastfeed.

• Breastfeed as soon as 

possible after your baby 

is born. Your first milk, 

called colostrum, helps your 

baby fight disease and stay 

healthy.

• Talk to your local WIC staff 

about proper positioning for 

breastfeeding.

• Breastfeed often, at least 8 to 

12 times a day or every 11⁄2 to 

3 hours to meet your baby’s 

needs and to keep up your 

breast milk supply.

• Talk to your local WIC staff 

about pumping and storing 

your breast milk safely if you 

plan to return to work.

• Feed only breast milk for the 

first 6 months.

• Continue to breastfeed 

through at least the first year 

of your baby’s life.

• Eat the same healthy foods 

that were recommended to 

you while you were pregnant. 

You do not need to stop 

eating certain foods or eat a 

special diet.

• Rest while your baby naps 

so you can have energy to 

breastfeed.

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Become Healthier

Good nutrition helps 

protect against some 

health problems like 

obesity. Becoming 

healthier isn’t 

just about eating 

healthy―it’s also 

about physical 

activity. What you 

eat and drink and 

your level of physical 

activity are important 

for your own health, and 

also for your child’s health. 

Your children watch what you 

do more than they listen to what you say. For 

example, don’t just tell your children to eat their 

vegetables―show them that you eat and enjoy 

vegetables every day.

Active parents tend to 

raise active children. 

Make active play fun for 

the whole family. Let your 

child help plan the fun. 

Start by doing what you 

can, at least 10 minutes 

at a time. Every bit adds 

up. Include 21⁄2 hours of 

physical activity each 

week―children need at 

least 60 minutes each day.

Food Safety

• Wash hands in warm soapy water 

before and after handling food. 

• Wash utensils, cutting boards, 

and surfaces with hot soapy water 

after they come into contact with 

food.

• To prevent cross-contamination, 

separate raw, cooked, and readyto-eat foods while shopping, 

preparing, and storing them.

• Never leave food at room 

temperature for more than 

2 hours. If the temperature is 

above 90  ̊F, food should not be left 

out more than 1 hour.

• Cook to the right temperature. 

Keep hot foods hot (above 140  ̊F) 

and cold foods cold (below 40  ̊F).

• Pregnant women should reheat 

deli meats, luncheon meats, and 

hot dogs to steaming hot or 165  ̊F 

before eating.

Pregnant women should not consume:

• Unpasteurized (raw) juice or milk 

or foods made from unpasteurized 

milk like cheese and yogurt

• Raw sprouts

• Raw or partially cooked eggs or 

foods containing raw eggs

• Raw or undercooked fish, 

shellfish, meat, and poultry

• Refrigerated smoked fish―unless 

it’s in a cooked dish, such as a 

casserole 

• Fish that contain high levels 

of mercury, such as swordfish, 

tilefish, king mackerel, and shark

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1Clean 2Separate 3Cook 4Chill

Follow the four basic steps to food safety:
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drugs

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• Alcohol, tobacco, and drugs can harm your baby and 

affect everyone in the family. Your baby could be born too 

early or too small, which may cause breathing and other 

health problems. As your child grows up, he or she may 

also have physical problems and problems with behavior 

and learning. These problems could lead to financial and 

emotional strain on families.

• Do not use alcohol, tobacco, and street drugs when you 

are pregnant. Using prescription and over-the-counter 

medicines incorrectly can also harm your baby. This 

includes drugs your doctor prescribed before you were 

pregnant and nonprescription drugs such as aspirin, as 

well as cold and cough medicine. Check with your doctor 

before you take any medicines.

• If you drink during pregnancy, your baby may be born with 

fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). FASD include 

birth defects, problems with vision and hearing, as well as 

other health, mental, learning, and behavioral problems. 

These problems last a lifetime.

After your baby is born, be very 

cautious about drinking alcohol―if 

you choose to drink at all. You may 

consume a single alcoholic drink if 

your baby’s breastfeeding behavior 

is well established―no earlier than 

3 months old. Then wait at least 

4 hours before breastfeeding. Or, 

you may express breast milk before 

drinking and feed the expressed 

milk to your baby later.

Keep your baby away 

from tobacco smoke. 

Babies and children who 

are around tobacco smoke 

have more colds, coughs, 

and earaches.

It is important not to use street 

drugs after your baby is born. Your 

baby needs your love and care. A 

mother who abuses alcohol or uses 

street drugs, including marijuana, 

may not care for her baby properly. 

She may forget to feed, wash, and 

change her baby.

If You Need Help

Talk to someone in the WIC office, a doctor, or other 

healthcare or social service worker if you need help quitting or 

cutting down alcohol, tobacco, or drugs. They will know where 

you can go for help.
 National Hunger Hotline: 

1-866-348-6479 

(1-866-3-HUNGRY) 

You can visit 

http://www.fns.usda.gov/

programs-and-services

Benefits.gov:

Helps you find other assistance 

programs. You can visit 

http://www.benefits.gov/

Food Safety:

AskKaren.gov helps answer 

your food safety questions. 

You can visit 

www.FoodSafety.gov/

Smoking Hotline: 

Connect directly to your State 

quit line coaches: 

1-800-QUIT NOW 

(1-800-784-8669) 

Visit 

www.smokefree.gov and 

http://betobaccofree.hhs.gov/ 

for information and tools to 

help you quit.

National Council on Alcoholism 

and Drug Dependence:

HOPE LINE: 1-800-NCA-CALL 

(1-800-622-2255)

Visit 

www.ncadd.org 

for more information on 

alcoholism and drug dependence.

Where To Get More Help

U.S. Department of Agriculture

Food and Nutrition Service

Program Aid No. 1198

December 2007

Revised March 2014 

Buying, selling, or otherwise misusing benefits from USDA’s 

nutrition assistance programs is a crime. To report suspected 

abuse, call (800) 424-9121, email: usda_hotline@oig.usda.gov, or 

write the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector 

General, PO Box 23399, Washington, DC, 20026-3399.

USDA is an equal opportunity 

provider and employer.