Happy 50th Birthday WIC! This year we’re celebrating 50 years of helping improve health outcomes for women, infants, and children. And in many cases, saving lives. Be sure to listen to Maine’s State WIC Director, Ginger Roberts-Scott, audio testimony of how WIC saved her life.

WIC’s 50th also means I’ve been enjoying the opportunity to recognize staff who have worked in WIC for more than 30 years. There are a lot of you! While in the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this year I had an incredible opportunity to talk and meet with both an original staff member and one of the first participants who spoke about what WIC was like in 1974 and how far the program has come.

Speaking about how far the program has come, just a few weeks ago we marked a new milestone in WIC with the announcement of final changes to the WIC food packages. The science-based changes provide WIC participants with a wider variety of nutritious foods to support healthy dietary patterns and accommodate special dietary needs and personal and cultural food preferences.

In March we celebrated National Nutrition Month®, which includes IBCLC and RDN Days. I want to recognize the contributions of those professionals working in WIC throughout the region. Also, thank you to all of you who contributed to this issue. It is filled with your work, your experiences, and your words.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as WIC.

WIC ensures mothers and young children who are low-income and nutritionally at-risk have the specialized nutrition, resources and referrals to the services they need. It offers supplemental nutritious food, nutrition education, breastfeeding support and immunization screening and referrals, along with referrals to other important health and social services such as housing assistance and connecting participants to pediatricians. Read more about Celebrating 50 Years of WIC.

Visit USDA's WIC Works Resource System page all year long for newly added WIC 50th content and celebrate with us by sharing our featured resources, including new social media posts, a new page with 50 Fun Facts About WIC, and more!

The National WIC Association has a page dedicated to celebrating the 50th Anniversary of WIC. You can find a toolkit, videos, and more.

On April 9, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) finalized updates to the foods prescribed to participants in WIC. These science-based revisions incorporate recommendations from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.

“WIC has a half-century track record of caring for young families. USDA and the Biden-Harris Administration are committed to ensuring that moms, babies and young children continue to thrive through WIC,” said Secretary Vilsack. “These participant-centered changes will strengthen WIC by ensuring the foods participants receive reflect the latest nutrition science to support healthy eating and the brightest futures.” Read more.

New Hampshire recently created a new ‘WIC for Community Partners’ page on our State website. The page features resources and information relevant to our community partners, including events, outreach materials, and training opportunities.

As part of this, we also developed two training videos that provide a deeper dive into what WIC is and the services provided. Both videos are between 15-20 minutes long. The first video discusses what the program is, core services provided, and how to apply. The second video provides detailed information on the foods available and how to shop with an eWIC card at local stores.

We have since distributed the link to the page and videos broadly amongst our various community networking groups in the state. Our hope is that this page and videos provide opportunities for our partners to learn more about WIC to increase referrals and overall confidence when discussing the program with the individuals they are working with.

Check out the web page and videos here.

Vermont Parks Forever (VPF) provided 1,400 state park passes to WIC participants and their families during the 2023 season. For WIC staff, this partnership was met with extreme excitement. Staff reported feeling “ecstatic that they could get people into state parks” and they were “thrilled to be able to give families an opportunity they might not have otherwise”. Staff were so happy to be in the role of handing out the passes knowing that it may be the first time a child might visit a state park and experience an unforgettable outdoor experience. Staff also appreciate having incentives such as this to help build their relationship with their clients. It’s truly been a win/win experience for staff and participants to be a part of the VPF State Park Pass Program because we have been able to offer above and beyond what families expect from us, which feels good and supports them in coming back to see us throughout the year.

Staff handed out the coupons in various ways to WIC participants. Some offices allowed families to come into the office, have a quick conversation about how and where to use the passes and they were handed out. Many offices paired the distribution of State Park Passes with the Farmer’s Market coupon distributions. which were already planned at local Farmer’s Markets throughout the months of June, July and August. A few additional highlights included:

Vermont WIC staff were surveyed and asked questions regarding how they felt the year had gone, whether they were successfully able to distribute the passes we received from VPF, whether they tracked families, and ways to improve the program next year.

Vermont state and local WIC staff are all employees of the Vermont Department of Health. Historically, both Health Department nurses and nutritionists were in the role of the WIC Competent Professional Authority (CPA) or Certifiers. In an effort to prioritize nutrition counseling, nurses were transitioned out of WIC services and staffing of only Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN), Nutritionists, and Nutrition Assistants was implemented. The goal is to provide a career ladder to retain qualified nutrition professionals.

Nutritionist I is the entry level position which performs nutrition assessments, breastfeeding support, and completes certifications of WIC participants. The Nutritionist I conducts high risk follow up, community nutrition activities, outreach efforts, and provides trainings to local community partners on nutrition related topics.

Nutritionist II is the next level of nutritionist that performs all the duties of the Nutritionist I. In addition, the Nutritionist II supervises local Breastfeeding Peer Counselors and oversees the peer counselor program at the local district level including hiring, orienting, training and evaluation of peer counselor performance.

Nutritionist III is the supervisory position that oversees WIC Program operations at the local Health Department WIC office level. In addition, this position performs nutritionist duties including nutrition assessments, breastfeeding support, and completes certifications of WIC participants.

Nutrition Assistants provide nutrition services to WIC applicants and low-risk participants including eligibility determination, health and nutrition assessment and education at a para-professional level. The Nutrition Assistant participates in the planning and provision of nutrition education activities at the local level.

State Nutrition Staff are Nutritionists and Registered Dietitian Nutritionists and many are hired from nutrition staff in the local WIC offices across Vermont. The local level WIC experience is a valuable asset for informing the development and evaluation of nutrition goals, objectives, and strategic plans for the State WIC Program.

The Frederiksted WIC clinic was a buzz of activity with moms and children there to celebrate National Nutrition Month® (NNM) and WIC’s 50th Anniversary. Staff held a nutrition demonstration within the NNM theme of Beyond the Table, letting participants learn how to eat a variety of foods in all forms.

They were treated to drinking their vegetables by trying a spinach banana smoothie, where one youngster gave a thumbs up for the drink. Mom was inspired to try this at home knowing he would be getting a healthy vegetable serving. Looking on were the Tennessee State University students along with faculty who came on a student experiential visit just in time to help celebrate WIC’s 50th Anniversary in the Virgin Islands during National Nutrition Month® to learn how food security programs work. WIC in its 50th year is continuing to provide healthy foods, nutrition and breastfeeding education to its clientele to help them achieve healthy life outcomes.

Also featured was an oatmeal bar that is among the recipes in the Virgin Islands' WIC recipe book, for which all who attended received a copy. One participant was indicating the valuable experiences she has had with WIC, hailing it as a truly helpful program that helps her provide healthy meals for her family, especially the fruits and vegetables benefit.

The U.S. Virgin Islands is celebrating 52 years of WIC as they had one of the pilot clinics in 1972, before the program was launched in 1974.

A recent trip to USVI was an opportunity for Regional Administrator Lizbeth Silbermann to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the WIC Program and the USVI’s historic role.

(l to r) Silbermann is pictured with three women who are part of USVI WIC history. Ms Gloria Carlos, one of the original WIC staff in 1974, Lorna Concepcion, USVI WIC Director who has spent 40 years working in WIC, and Mrs. Hilaria Duval, one of the first WIC participants in the USVI.

Ann Barone, RI WIC Director, joins Dr. Philip Chan on his Public Health Out Loud podcast to talk about WIC's history and the positive impact it has had on Rhode Island families over the years.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small visits the Onondaga County Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) office in Syracuse.

At the visit, USDA's Deputy Secretary held a roundtable discussion with state officials and stakeholders, toured the facilities, and met with local WIC program participants.

"Thank you to the committed staff at the Onondaga County clinic for hosting USDA and for their efforts to ensure Syracuse mothers, families, infants, and children are able to receive vital WIC benefits. Their dedication directly results in better life outcomes for the children and babies that benefit from their services. We know that providing children and families access to healthy, nutritious food means better health outcomes, higher cognitive functions, and a brighter future for our nation." said USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small.

The 45th Annual Conference for the WIC Association of New York State took place April 15th-17th in Albany, New York. The conference attracted over 200 attendees including WIC Directors, dietitians, nutritionists, nurses, WIC clerical and vendor management staff, and NYS agency staff. For two days, attendees were able to network in person, speakers presented tantalizing new content and research, and the exhibit hall was bustling with over 30 exhibitors.

The Opening Welcome Session featured remarks from Associate Director and WIC Chair Lisa Fermin, NWICA Senior Public Policy Manager Nell Menefee-Libey, USDA FNS Regional Administrator Lizbeth Silbermann, NYS WIC Director Corie Nadzan, and a recognition of those with 30+ years of service to WIC.

USDA FNCS Deputy Under Secretary Stacy Dean visited CIAO grantee The Opportunity Alliance (TOA) in Portland, Maine to learn more about its community outreach work with immigrant populations, and the work of multilingual WIC counselors co-located within Maine Medical Center OBGYN and pediatric clinics.

Maine DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew and Northeast Regional FNS Administrator Lizbeth Silbermann also participated in the meeting.

(l to r, front row: Maine WIC Director Ginger Roberts-Scott, TOA WIC Special Project Coordinator Lilian Vitale, and TOA WIC Director Anna Bullett. Back row: Northeast FNS Administrator Lizbeth Silbermann, Maine DHHS Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew, and USDA Deputy Under Secretary Stacy Dean)

Thanks to collaborative efforts between the Maine WIC Program and the Dover-Foxcroft United Methodist Church, a Pay it Forward shop supports the residents of Dover-Foxcroft, the largest town in Piscataquis County Maine.

The shop offers toys, books, clothing, shoes and more for newborns to preteens---all for free. All that is asked in return is that you pay it forward with kindness. The popular shop has been up and running for more than 10 years now. It is open to the public the second and third Wednesday of each month, which coincides with when WIC staff are at the church to outreach to potential WIC families and offer clinic services to those enrolled in the program.

Shoppers are welcome from across the community---moms, dads, grandparents, teachers; anyone in need. All that is asked is they pay it forward by helping a neighbor, sharing a smile or donating back clothing a child has outgrown.

Erin Bartlett is a Program Specialist for the Northeast Regional Office (NERO) WIC Team. Erin specializes in Food Delivery, Civil Rights, and the WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Programs (S/FMNP). Erin is also part of the NERO Culture Team and was recently appointed as the Regional Special Emphasis Program Manager (SEPM), Disability Employment Program.

Erin has worked with the USDA since October 2023. Before joining the Agency, she worked as an ADA Coordinator at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Office of Diversity Equity, Inclusion and Access. She spent most of her professional career working within the Massachusetts Emergency Shelter system, most recently at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Living Communities as the ADA Coordinator for the EA Family and Individual Shelter system, serving unhoused families and individuals.

During her free time, Erin will most likely be found at her cabin in New Hampshire enjoying outdoor activities such as kayaking, hiking, off-roading in her Jeep, or curled up by the fire with a good book.