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| Changes to WIC Program Coming in August |
Improvements being made to a federally grant-funded program will give more options to women and small children who depend on it, including more than a thousand residents in Knox County alone.
The Women, Infant and Children Program, will offer coupons beginning on August 1st for the purchase fresh fruits and vegetables. WIC in the past has offered products like eggs, milk, cheese, and juice to pregnant women, women who have just given birth and their infants, and all children under the age of 5 who are eligible for the WIC program. The Knox County Health department says it has around 1,300 clients enrolled in the WIC program.
Rhonda Peterson, Knox County Health Department Interim Administrator, says the changes can help families that are already in a difficult situation.
"That's something that the parents can spend other money on during the month other than those groceries, which milk is expensive, cereal is outrageous I think (and) cheese is expensive."
Peterson recently brought the changes up at the Knox County Board of Health's monthly meeting.
She says the next few months will be spent educating people who use the program about the differences in cost of the fresher fruits and vegetables versus the canned variety.
The WIC program has been used since 1974, when 88,000 people participated. The program now benefits approximately 8.7 million people a month at a cost of nearly 6.8 billion dollars for this fiscal year.
For more information about the WIC program, CLICK HERE. |
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| 05 26 09 by Newsroom |
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