Alaska WIC for Healthy Moms and Babies
For pregnant women and nursing mothers of low to modest income, the federal based WIC can help supplement your groceryshopping . WIC, which stands for Women, Infants and Children, is a nutrition program that provides nutrition and health education, healthy food and other services free of charge to families who qualify. The Alaska WIC program is operated regionally by Alaska’s Alaska’s Health and Human Services’Office of Children’s Services.
The mission of the Alaska “Special Supplemental Nutrition Program,” commonly known as WIC, serves to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, & children up to age 5 who may be at nutritional risk. The Alaska WIC program offers key information on healthy eating and breastfeeding. The Alabama WIC Program collaborates with the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture to provide WIC participants with coupons, redeemable at Alaska Farmers’ Markets for fresh fruits and vegetables during the summer months.
The Alaska WIC program is widely utilized, as 45 percent of all infants born in the United States use WIC.
Eligibility
Who is eligible for the Alaska WIC program?
Categorical simply means who can receive services of the Alaska WIC program. Pregnant women, women who have just had a baby,breastfeeding women, infants, and children under the age of five. The Alaska WIC program encourages fathers and grandparents to bring their natural or foster children to see if they qualify for services.
Residential requirements which are mandated by the federal WIC program simply require that applicants applying for Alaska WIC to be currently living in Alaska.
The strictest requirement of the WIC program is that applicants must have an income at or below an income level set by the Alaska WIC agency. The state-set income level must not be morethan 185 percent of the Federal poverty income guidelines. Current income charts are available on the Alaska WIC program web site.
Women and children are automatically eligible, according to the Alaska WIC program if they have already been determined income-eligible by their participation in other social services, including Food Stamps, Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or Aid to Families with Dependent Children.
The final requirement of the Alaska WIC program is called nutritional risk. Although the wording seems a bit harsh to expectant and new mothers, there are various factors that may contribute to nutrition risk. It could simply mean the person has a medical-based condition like anemia or is underweight, or has suffered miscarriages.
Benefits and Services
For women children who meet all Alaska WIC program requirements, WIC provides breastfeeding support, and immunization screening and referral, Personalized nutrition consultation and checks to buy free, healthy food.
For those not breastfeeding the Alaska WIC programfood package includes formula. There are Federal regulatory requirements for WIC-eligible foods. Food that are included on the Alaska WIC program for adults include certain hot and cold cereals, which are high in iron and low in sugar. Beverages on the voucher include cow’s milk and 100% juice products. Women will also receive peanut butter or dry beans, cheese, eggs and beans. Breastfeeding women will also receivetuna fish and carrots. Baby will receive his/her own vouchers for cereal and juice in the first year of life under the Alaska WIC program. After one year, when the mother comes off the program, baby stays on and receives the cow’s milk, cereal (not infant), eggs and peanut butter or dry beans. A pamphlet is given to WIC recipients with pictures of all acceptable brands.
Because immunizing children against certain diseases is one important way to help them stay healthy, another service of the Alaska WIC program is to refer parents WIC’s about where to get a child immunized. However, immunization records or status and/or an infant/child’s are not tied to the receipt of WIC benefits under the Alaska WIC program.
Length of Program
Services provided by the Alaska WIC services are temporary. Pregnant women may receive WIC until six weeks after they deliver their baby. For breastfeeding moms, they may receive services from Alaska WIC until the baby’s first birthday. For women who have had a baby but are not breastfeeding may receive WIC for six months after their baby is born. Infants may receive WIC until their first birthdayand children may receive Alaska WIC until their fifth birthday.
Alaska WIC for Small Villages
Although WIC is available statewide there may be no WIC-approved local store in your village. If this is the case, boxes of WIC food will arrive by mail on a monthly basis. Staff of Alaska WIC also make yearly visits to many Alaskan villages, if one is not coming to your village soon, apply for WIC through the mail.
To Apply for WIC in Alaska
A list of offices is available on the Alaska WIC web site and the application is available for download.
Find your local WIC office or call Healthy Alaskans Hotline 1-800-478-2221, to locate the Alaska WIC office nearest you.
The main Alaska office:
Department of Health and Social Services
Office of Children’s Services
Family Nutrition Programs – WIC
P.O. Box 110612
Juneau, AK 99811-0612
telephone: (907) 465-3100
TDD: (907) 586-4265
fax: (907) 465-3416
