FAQs
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question below to view the answer.
What is WIC?
How are foods purchased?
Who is eligible?
What is "Nutritional Risk"?
How many people does WIC serve?
Where is WIC available?
What food benefits do WIC participants receive?
What is the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program?
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| What is WIC?
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| Food,
nutrition education or counseling, and access to health
services are provided to eligible pregnant, breastfeeding
and postpartum women, infants, and children to age 5.
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| How are foods purchased?
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| The
WIC Program provides food instruments (checks) that
participants use at WIC authorized grocery stores. The
food instrument (check) lists the foods and quantities that
can be purchased at a WIC approved store.
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| Who is eligible?
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Pregnant,
breastfeeding or postpartum women, infants, and children up
to age 5 are eligible. They must meet income guidelines,
live in Arkansas, and be individually determined to be at
"nutritional risk" by a health professional.
Applicants' income must fall below 185 percent of the U.S.
Poverty Income Guidelines or be eligible for Medicaid,
ARKids, TEA or Food Stamps.
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| What is "nutritional risk"?
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Two
major types of nutritional risk are recognized for WIC
eligibility:
- Medically
based risks (designated as "high priority")
such as anemia, underweight, maternal age, history of
pregnancy complications, or poor pregnancy outcomes.
- Diet-based
risks such as inadequate dietary pattern.
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| How many people does WIC serve?
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| The
Arkansas WIC Program currently serves approximately 90,000
women infants, and children each month.
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| Where is WIC available?
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| In
Arkansas, the WIC Program is available at every local county
health unit.
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| What food benefits do WIC participants receive?
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WIC
participants receive food instruments (checks) that allow
them to purchase a monthly food package designed to
supplement their diets.
WIC foods include iron-fortified infant formula and infant
cereal, iron-fortified adult cereal, vitamin C-rich fruit or
vegetable juice, eggs, milk, cheese, and peanut butter or
dried beans or peas. Breastfeeding women who do not use
infant formula receive an enriched food package that
includes carrots and tuna. |
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| What is the WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program?
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| The
WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (WIC
FMNP), established in 1992, provides additional coupons
to WIC participants that they can use to purchase fresh
fruits and vegetables at participating farmers' markets. The
program has two goals: To provide fresh, nutritious,
unprepared food, such as fruits and vegetables, from
farmers' markets to WIC participants who are at nutritional
risk; and to expand consumers' awareness and use of farmers'
markets.
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For more information:
Information about WIC can be obtained from any
local county health unit between the hours of 8:00 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday or by contacting the State WIC Office at 501-661-2473,
800-482-5400 or 800-235-0002. The State WIC Office can also be reached via fax at 501-661-2004 or 501-661-2271 or by e-mail to wic.program@arkansas.gov
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