WIC questions

[OceansEve]

I looked at our state's website, but don't want to spend my time with two little ones going to talk to someone if its not worth it. What foods are included in it? I know cheese, eggs, cheerios and milk, but I buy non hormone milk and have chickens, so it would probably not be worth the tax hassle to claim assistance if its just for cheese and cheerios

[Paxjourney]

Formula (if you use it) if not extra food to support breast feeding... Let me think if I remember. peanut butter, beans, veggies, juice, oatmeal

[Ruthla]

Juice, milk, eggs, cheese (or more milk instead of cheese), cereal, beans or peanut butter, plus tuna and carrots if you're BF a baby under a year old.

You can get hormone-free milk on WIC, just not raw milk or organic milk (well, I think they may allow organic in some areas but not most.)

[inkedmamajama]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

Juice, milk, eggs, cheese (or more milk instead of cheese), cereal, beans or peanut butter, plus tuna and carrots if you're BF a baby under a year old.

You can get hormone-free milk on WIC, just not raw milk or organic milk (well, I think they may allow organic in some areas but not most.)

not all state agencies will allow non hormone milk. and in most stores the only milk that is non hormone is organic-so...most people still lose out.

[kasey08]

I don't know what you mean about the tax hassle.. Low enough income = free food. Babies can get formula and baby cereal. For regular cereal there are a lot more choices than Cheerios, including hot cereals. You can get more cheese and less milk, or other way around. Plus everything that's been said already.

[Norasmomma]

It depends on what state you live in, WA you can get organic milk and now can get organic peanut butter too(and carrots if breastfeeding, and og baby cereal). Now also most milk in WA is "hormone free" even if not organic, don't ask me why, it has been just recently.

There is no tax hassle, I don't know why you'd think that. Also here is a bit of info that you may or may not know, there are different ways to qualify, there is income qualifying or medical qualifying. In my state(WA) if a family member is getting Medicaid(state or federal) but is over the WIC income, you still qualify. My friend had been denied in the past because she was over income, but her son receives Medicaid from SSI for being a Downs child, so I told her about this because it is a gray area of about $200. Well they now qualify.

Also depending on the state some get Farmer's market vouchers also, so that makes it worth it too.

[kangaroomum25]

I'm thinking about going back on wic, but I can't remember if they test for iron in breastfed babies over 1. I'm already planning on not signing up my 3 yr old as I know how he would act with someone trying to poke him with a needle and I'm not going to put him through that. I'm pg and I dont mind the iron check so I could at least get it for me. I guess I should just call and ask.

[justamama]

We are a toddler and myself and a breastfeeding infant.

We get:
Milk (too much for our family, and our only hormone free option is lactaid)
Cheese (64 oz/month)
Baby Cereal
Cereal
Carrots
Beans/Lentils
Peanut Butter
Tuna

[Mylie]

I get it for my one year old

She is allergic to dairy and soy so alot of it she can't eat or drink but they won't cover Rice milk.:

We get...

Milk..I give it too my mom and she buys our Organic Rice milk.

Cheese..Again she is allergic but I will eat it until she gets older.

Pb..she can't get this until she is 2 so we get dried beans that I cook.

cereal...There isn't any cereal on Wic that she can have...They still won't sub anything else..So I eat it and buy her a cereal she can have.

Juice...She drinks very little as she doesn't like sweet stuff...

eggs...She will eat these a little.

She doesn't really benifit from WIC although she qualifies.We did get some farmers market coupons that we used up and she benifited from that...She likes vegetables.

I guess it just depends on what your kiddos will eat or even if you or anyone else in your family will eat it..Every little bit helps when you don't have anything..Although I do wish every state offered the organic like some states do..That really stinks.But my state wants you to get the cheapest of everything.

[Mama Poot]

We get:

Milk
Eggs
Cheese
Cereal
Dried beans
Tuna fish
Carrots
Juice
Peanut Butter (and you can get the natural kind without hydro. oils)
Farmer's market coupons in the summer. These were great! I used my entire package to buy a bushel of tomatoes that I turned into 10 quarts of lovely spaghetti sauce.

I plan on making sprouts from some of the beans. And the only kind of tuna they let you get is the "safe" kind (chunk light in water). WIC assistance has been hugely helpful for us, so if you are really struggling, I say it is totally worth it.

[PenelopeJune]

I'm already planning on not signing up my 3 yr old as I know how he would act with someone trying to poke him with a needle and I'm not going to put him through that.

You might be surprised. I thought my 3 year old would freak out. Instead he was FASCINATED by the blood coming out. He didn't even wimper when she poked him. He was really impressed with his Spiderman bandaid, too.

[Mama Poot]

Originally Posted by inkedmamajama

not all state agencies will allow non hormone milk. and in most stores the only milk that is non hormone is organic-so...most people still lose out.

Really? All of the milk at my local store (Giant Eagle) says "Milk from cows NOT treated with BGH" then of course that stupid disclaimer from the FDA. As I understand it, most milks are hormone free now, just not organic.

[mamamarley]

Yeah, on the subject of the Iron test, my dd is 16.5 mos and didn't care at all about it, she just watched in silence. (I sat half flopped out, ready to bf her if she cried, but not a peep!) Give it a chance, you might be surprised!

And about the qualification process - I live in a pretty poor rural area and there are usually a fair number of people waiting in the lobby of the WIC office when we get there, but they always have cool things for the kids to play with (plus other kids, which fascinate my dd) and always get me in and out of there reasonably quickly. Here in Ohio, you only need a month of proof of income and I think maybe proof of address? It's really not as much paperwork as you'd think, at least here. The process is pretty streamlined.

And WIC really makes a difference for us, especially in the winter when there are no lawns to mow for extra cash and our electric bill quadruples.

[Norasmomma]

Yeah I thought that my DD would freak out a bit about being poked for her iron test, but they don't even use a needle, it looks like a tiny staple. she didn't even wince. It was harder for her to sit still to get weighed and her height measured.

I personally got off WIC for a little bit because of some issues with my medical coupon, but that got fixed. For us it is a big help. My DD drinks a lot of milk. I didn't do it hen I was pregnant, but I wish I had. If I get pg again I will definitely sign myself up too.

[TearyCloud]

Originally Posted by PenelopeJune

You might be surprised. I thought my 3 year old would freak out. Instead he was FASCINATED by the blood coming out. He didn't even wimper when she poked him. He was really impressed with his Spiderman bandaid, too.

I declined the iron test on the basis that my ped was about to do one. they said ok and that was that. We did do one at the ped (we're veg and I worry about Iron sometimes) but WIC never remembered to ask about it.

[Verygoddess]

What has been your experience with thier requirements for vaccination if you DONT vaccinate?

[Ruthla]

Originally Posted by Verygoddess

What has been your experience with thier requirements for vaccination if you DONT vaccinate?

I had no problem with that whatsoever. I brought in the copy of the "cover the dr's butt form" instead of the vacine schedule (since DS didn't have any vax until he was nearly 3 and was on WIC since birth).

[DandeCobb]

in my state they have never required anything regarding vaccinations its like this

'is he vaccinated on schedule?'

'yes'

end of story. now, he is vaccinated on MY schedule as i'm sure everyone here is as well. (even if your schedule is empty!)

[inkedmamajama]

Originally Posted by Mama Poot

Really? All of the milk at my local store (Giant Eagle) says "Milk from cows NOT treated with BGH" then of course that stupid disclaimer from the FDA. As I understand it, most milks are hormone free now, just not organic.

i wish i was in your state then! no in missouri and illinois, the majority of milk comes from big dairy companies that do not address the bgh issue. it sucks.

especially when the milk that is bgh free is twice as much-3 for crappy milk, 6$ for good milk.

[leavemealone]

Not sure if I should start a new thread or not, but how does WIC determine eligibility if you don't have the same income each month? We might qualify, but DH works on commission and we don't have a set base salary he brings home each month so I'm not sure. Some months are good, some aren't. Would they look at last year's taxes? If so, we probably wouldn't qualify b/c I was working, but I lost my job in June and haven't been able to find anything since so at this point maybe we would.