Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is the nation’s most successful and cost-effective public health nutrition program.
WIC provides wholesome food, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and community referrals/assistance for income-eligible families with pregnant or postpartum women, infants, and children up to 5 years of age.
Eligibility
All caregivers are welcome! WIC offers support to anyone — working or not — who cares for a child under the age of 5 years old including:
- Moms
- Dads
- Grandparents
- Foster parents
- Step-parents
- Guardians
To get WIC assistance, participants:
- Should be pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding, or have infants under 5 years old
- May be in need of income assistance (see income guidelines)
- Can be receiving other benefits like foster care, medical assistance, or SNAP
Program Offerings
Food. Education. Support. You got this. WIC gives parents the resources, knowledge, and tools they need to be the parents they want to be.
Healthy Food
WIC can help you buy milk, fruit, vegetables, eggs, cereal, juice, peanut butter, baby formula, and other healthy foods.
Nutrition Education
WIC offers guidance on how to shop for healthy food, how to prepare it, and how to entice children to eat it. We support and educate families to help them reach their breastfeeding goals. We also provide access to:
- Prenatal nutrition
- Breastfeeding tips
- Eating tips for your child
- Parenting tips
- Healthy recipes
A Community of Support
WIC is a network built for families. We connect them, we educate them, and we learn from them. Our staff consists of:
- Dietitians, nurses, and nutritionists
- Lactation specialists
- Breastfeeding peer counselors
Areas Served
The Pottawattamie County WIC Program serves all eligible families in the following six counties:
- Pottawattamie
- Cass
- Harrison
- Mills
- Monona
- Shelby
Referrals
WIC can introduce families to resources outside of WIC, including:
- Healthcare professionals such as pediatricians, OBGYNs, and dentists
- Immunization services
- Other food resources
- Head Start / Early Head Start
- Hawk-I/Medicaid
