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Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

WIC is a federally funded program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services. WIC is a food and nutrition program that services pregnant women, infants and children up to the age of 5 years old. By providing healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and assistance with referrals to local health and support services, WIC helps with positive pregnancy outcomes as well as normal child growth and development.

Did you know that the free WIC Connect app can help you keep track of your benefits, request appointments, and shop for your WIC foods? Find it on the App Store or Google Play and download it today! Click here for more information.

Program eligibility is based on income - at or below 185% of Federal Poverty Income Guidelines or receiving Medicaid Insurance or Food Stamps. Participants must be Michigan residents.

WIC Provides the Following:

• Supplemental Foods

WIC provides participants with a WIC EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) card that acts like a debit card when used at local participating WIC stores. Food benefits are loaded on the card and clients shop for food items such as milk, eggs, cereal, bread, fresh fruits and vegetables, beans, peanut butter, cheese, yogurt and juice. Infants who are not breastfed receive formula during their first year; infant cereal and baby food is added at six months of age. Nutrition education is also offered to all participants or caregivers.

• Breastfeeding Promotion and Support

The Bay County WIC Agency has trained personnel to assist mothers with breastfeeding education and counseling. WIC strongly encourages breastfeeding and can assist families with hands-on support, loaning of a breast pump, or referrals for in-home support.

• Nutrition Education

Nutrition education is offered to all WIC clients or their caregivers. WIC participants can learn more about good nutrition and weight gain during pregnancy, how to feed an infant or toddler, anemia or iron deficiency and childhood growth and development and other nutrition related health issues. In addition, Registered Dietitians (RD) can provide individualized high risk nutrition counseling for participants with special medical conditions or nutrition-related health issues.

• Health Care Referrals

WIC helps to ensure that families benefit from other appropriate health and social services in the community. The WIC Program will screen for other health problems and make referrals as needed. Examples of these referrals include Medicaid, Food Stamps (SNAP), immunizations, family planning and other community programs.

• Project Fresh

During the months of June through October, WIC participants can receive additional benefits to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables at the local farmers' markets. 

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

1. mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

2. fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

3. email:
[email protected]

                                                                                       This institution is an equal opportunity provider.