When our Community Health Worker met Felicia*, her daughter was two years old. Through the process of helping her set up health and dental appointments, she learned that she had originally been signed up for WIC when she was pregnant, but had never used her benefits because she didn’t understand how to use them. Even though the 40 page booklet outlining what she was eligible to purchase was in Spanish, she said it was confusing and her attempts to use her card were unsuccessful so she stopped trying.
When Ana* was pregnant, a Community Health Worker helped connect her to WIC. They did a shopping trip together so that the Community Health Worker could teach her how to use the card. When she disclosed that she was paying $60 for each ride to the store to use the WIC benefits, we helped her connect to a Bridges to Health volunteer and tried to coordinate shopping trips with medical visits. After a number of times, she felt comfortable selecting the correct items to maximize the use of her WIC benefits. One day recently, she confidently selected all her WIC items and went to check out. After the cashier rung out 16 ounces of tortillas, 1 dozen non organic eggs, a gallon of lowfat (not whole) milk, two 8 ounce packages of cheese, 1 tub of low fat yogurt, two bags of 16 ounce dried beans, two 18 ounce boxes of approved cereal, and around $40 of fruits and vegetables, Ana slid her WIC card through the machine. It didn’t work. Confused and not wanting to cause problems, she fumbled through her wallet and paid out of pocket using money she had been planning to use for essential non-food household items like diapers for her child.
Maria* recently went shopping with a community volunteer who spoke some Spanish. She had the list of her beginning balance and methodically helped her pick out items that seemed to line up. At check out, Maria was $30 over. Both Maria and the volunteer didn’t understand why. The Community Health Worker explained that some of the brands were not WIC approved and that some items were not in line with the size requirements (like the 10 ounce package of cheese). For the next shopping trip, I accompanied Maria and taught her how to look closely at what items were labeled as WIC approved. Having learned from Ana’s experience, I helped Maria requested a balance check at customer service before we started shopping and then methodically selected WIC approved items matching both the WIC approval sticker to the specific quantity listed and any indication that the item needed to be low fat or non fat. We couldn’t find a 48 ounce bottle of WIC approved juice – only 64 ounce containers so we grabbed one to ask at check out if it could be approved. At check out we were told that there is no way of checking if an item is eligible for a particular person’s WIC benefits. We would have to ring everything up and only after sliding the WIC card through could we see if there would be a remaining balance to pay out of pocket. We decided not to risk it with the juice but had the cashier ring everything else up. A message popped up on the screen asking if we approved of the $77.94 amount. I could see the cashiers screen and noticed that the total balance was $82.53. I asked if we could remove the item that was not eligible. The cashier said they were unable to tell which item was not eligible. In the meantime, a line of 5 shoppers had formed, Maria looked uncomfortable and I was frustrated. Maria pulled two crumpled dollar bills from the bottom of her purse and said “this is all I have.”
The experiences of many of the clients we work with combined with my own recent experience, left me wondering how many people forgo their benefits or do not maximize the use of their benefits because the system is confusing and leaves people vulnerable to being embarrassed at the check out line unsure how to proceed and in some cases unable to bring home the food items they desperately need.
Felicia wasn’t provided adequate support to ensure she could actually utilize her card when she was first enrolled in WIC. In the case of Ana, her WIC card had been frozen unbeknownst to her because she had not completed a WIC educational activity that she did not know she had to complete. She has no cell service where she lives so can only communicate via web-based messaging and calls. And in the case of Maria, after a close examination of the receipts, I realized I had inadvertently selected two WIC approved items that together were more than the allowed allotment. In all three cases, there are solutions. Newly enrolled WIC participants can get an in-store orientation and participants who do not use their benefits for months in a row should receive follow up to offer support. Web-based messaging and calls (via WhatsApp) should be utilized to ensure WIC participants without phone services know about required activities and appointments. WIC participants should be taught to do a benefits check prior to shopping (though for many of our clients who speak languages other than English, requesting the check is as challenging as understanding the beginning balance list). And there should be a way to swipe a WIC card ahead of a scanning items so that as items are rung up, the customer can see what is covered and choose whether or not to pay out of pocket for those items.
Our team has worked closely with WIC staff across the state who share in common our desire to ensure WIC is accessible for eligible families including those who speak languages other than English. They are kind, committed, and responsive to feedback. With limited funding and thus capacity of both WIC staff and community based organizations like ours and policy implementation that happens at a federal level, how can we make sure WIC benefits are in fact a benefit and not a burden for low-income families in Vermont?