Wic?

[EmSchmem]

Does anyone (especially in Ohio) use WIC?

 

[Zoomer]

I used WIC (in Pennsylvania) for a period when my husband lost his job. Is there anything specific you want to know?

 

[EmSchmem]

Not really. Just people's experiences with it. I have an appointment on Monday to get it started.

 

[Zoomer]

It helped alot when we needed it. The only thing I did not like was that when they weighed my daughter, they told me that he BMI was over the normal. Then they went over this long paper about what to give her and not give her for snacks etc.
I just nodded and smiled that they were politely calling my daughter fat. What they failed to realize is that my daughter's weight and height have remained steady over the years. I even asked my pediatrician if I should be concerned about a weight issue and he just laughed.

 

[EmSchmem]

Nice. If they do this with my son, I'll try to remember to smile and nod!

 

[Jillian1527]

I used WIC (in Indiana) with both my girls and with this baby. I love it. but with everything you need to know when to let the things they say roll off you and just forget it. It has been a great help for us.

 

[Hisrosebud]

17 years ago with my first son I was on WIC. Had the same problem about the weight. He was born 9 lbs 12 oz. They wanted me to put him on a diet and had never seen him! I talked to my pediatrician who also said, you never put a toddler on a diet!-- he's fine.

They have rubber food to show you appropriate proportions. Felt a little like I was in kindergarten.

What was good was that because I chose to breast fed, I got extra milk. During the summer they gave coupons to the farmer's market to get produce and had a christmas in July. The kids got free clothes, toys, books. It was great.

They also organized a clothing swap. We brought all our used clothes in and took clothes that we needed.

My advice, check what paperwork they need before you go, it will save you a return trip. They often want proof of income for the last month, doctors note showing updated iron counts and proof of address. May need birth certificates too-- it has been a few years. LOL

 

[Leanna]

Their charts are only a guideline. They have never worked for me. When I first got on WIC (in Illinois) I had given birth 3 weeks before hand and was still 10-15 pounds over my prepregnancy weight. They told me I was underweight. They do not know what you should weigh. But we got almost all of our formula paid for, and now they are giving some Rice cereal and juice for the baby. In the first six months they also give coupons for milk and eggs and stuff for the postpartum woman. It is really great and saves us a lot of money-- we are low income. I think it is easy and I am glad I did it.

 

[Addicted2~Jesus]

Outta work, zero money an in my area bein a minority truthfully (though not considered so technically) we didn't qualify... my daughter was 2 months old an we didn't qualify. It was very biased here so I cain't say what other areas are like, but here if a person like me walks in their it's an automatic denial, sad but true.

 

[Zoomer]

Outta work, zero money an in my area bein a minority truthfully (though not considered so technically) we didn't qualify... my daughter was 2 months old an we didn't qualify. It was very biased here so I cain't say what other areas are like, but here if a person like me walks in their it's an automatic denial, sad but true.

It is all based on income, so you shouldn't have been denied if you had a qualifiying income. I have never seen otherwise.

 

[HeatherJay]

I was on WIC while my hubby and I were both going to college (both full time students, neither of us worked, we lived on GI Bill, grants, and student loans). It helped A LOT. We formula fed and they bought all of our formula (around $100 worth a month) and then rice cereal and juice later on.

Also, while I was still pregnant, they bought us milk, cheese, peanut butter, beans, breakfast cereal, etc. I think some of these things they continue to provide after birth if you decide to breastfeed.

It's a fantastic service for lower income women and children. We'd have really had to struggle without it back then.

The nutrition stuff is really boring to listen to, but it's a small price to pay (they were always asking about my eating habits or my child's eating habits...I'd just make up stuff that we'd eaten...I mean honestly, does anyone REALLY keep track of how many portions of bread or vegatables they've had in a day???). Also, make sure you find out what paperwork you need ahead of time. They tended to give me the run-around, making me re-schedule, etc, if I didn't have exactly the stuff I needed with me at my appointments. Keep that stuff organized and it should make your life a lot simpler.

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

It is all based on income, so you shouldn't have been denied if you had a qualifiying income. I have never seen otherwise.

You're right, we "shouldn't" have been denied but in our area it's an automatic denial for our ethnicity or seems anyways. In our area you can get potato chips and all kinds of other junk food on WIC and we just wanted help with the essentials like milk, eggs, bread, etc.

 

[HeatherJay]

You're right, we "shouldn't" have been denied but in our area it's an automatic denial for our ethnicity or seems anyways. In our area you can get potato chips and all kinds of other junk food on WIC and we just wanted help with the essentials like milk, eggs, bread, etc.

Are you sure you're talking about WIC? Because they only buy food with nutritional value...they never buy junk. Their food lists are very, very specific. WIC is for women who are pregnant or mothers of young children.

Now food stamps, that's a different thing. You can buy any food item with food stamps (no longer stamps, now it's a little credit card thingy). It's a little trickier to get on food stamps than WIC. Is that what you're talking about?

 

[Leanna]

Yeah, you can't get potatoe chips with these coupons. It is only for healthy food and there is a list. Don't know where you got that idea.

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

Are you sure you're talking about WIC? Because they only buy food with nutritional value...they never buy junk. Their food lists are very, very specific. WIC is for women who are pregnant or mothers of young children.

Now food stamps, that's a different thing. You can buy any food item with food stamps (no longer stamps, now it's a little credit card thingy). It's a little trickier to get on food stamps than WIC. Is that what you're talking about?

I stand corrected, you are right, I was confusing WIC with food stamps. But we still didn't qualify for either...even though we had no income, no savings, and a brand new baby...though funnily enough I was able to get CHIPS for my daughter. I think we might have been given that one because it wasn't decided by someone locally but upstate somewhere.

 

[HeatherJay]

In college we did qualify for food stamps, even though we could afford to buy enough groceries to keep us fed. We ended up feeling bad about it since there were so many people who really did need that kind of assistance more than us, so we stopped, but I was on WIC until my oldest daughter was eating solid foods, I think.

Funny how the state standards for qualification for assitance programs can be so different. Hearing stories like yours really sort of ticks me off at the government. I don't understand why it's acceptable to let people in need go without some form of federal or state help. It also makes me mad that there are so many people out their who abuse the system and make it that much harder for deserving people to get the help they need.

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

In college we did qualify for food stamps, even though we could afford to buy enough groceries to keep us fed. We ended up feeling bad about it since there were so many people who really did need that kind of assistance more than us, so we stopped, but I was on WIC until my oldest daughter was eating solid foods, I think.

Funny how the state standards for qualification for assitance programs can be so different. Hearing stories like yours really sort of ticks me off at the government. I don't understand why it's acceptable to let people in need go without some form of federal or state help. It also makes me mad that there are so many people out their who abuse the system and make it that much harder for deserving people to get the help they need.

It ticks us off to no end too because we see so many people around where we live on government programs who truly don't need or deserve it or cheat to get onto them and then the people who truly do need assistance to help them get back on their feet have to go without just one of my pet peeves