The goals of nutrition education are to promote the optimal use of the WIC supplemental foods and other nutritious foods and to teach the relationship between proper nutrition and good health. All WIC agencies have trained personnel who are ready to assist mothers with breastfeeding instruction and support. Iron-fortified infant formula is made available to mothers who choose not to breastfeed their infants. WIC works closely with other service providers by receiving referrals from private and public health care providers and referring WIC participants to health and social services, as needed. The WIC target population consists of pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants, and children less than five years of age.
Eligibility is based on both income and nutrition risk.
Nutrition risk eligibility criteria include, but are not limited to, anemia, factors associated with high risk pregnancy, nutrition related medical conditions, or inadequate growth patterns. WIC saves public and private health care dollars. WIC has also been associated with reducing the rate of anemia among participating children by 16 percent and improving their growth and immunization rates. The Effects of Prenatal WIC Participation, September 1992. Savings in Medicaid Costs for Newborns and Their Mothers from Prenatal Participation in the WIC Program, October 1990.