WIC Provides Your Patients with
- Information and support for having a healthy pregnancy
- Education and support for breastfeeding for the first year of life and beyond
- Personalized nutrition education
- Access to no-cost healthy foods
- Healthy, kid-friendly recipes
- Referrals to health care providers for high-risk factors
- Referrals to other community resources
Who to Refer to WIC
Families with low to moderate income (living at or below 185% of Federal Poverty Level) or who receive Medi-Cal, CalWORKs (cash aid) or CalFresh (SNAP) and who are:
- Pregnant
- Breastfeeding up to one year and non-breastfeeding up to six months after delivery (including recent pregnancy loss)
- Infants and children from birth up to five years
- Dads, grandparents, foster parents, or guardians who care for eligible children
- Working, military, and migrant families (They may be eligible and not know it)
Visit Who Qualifies for WIC income guidelines.
Get results with WIC
- Increase key nutrients in your patient’s diet
- Improve birth outcomes, with fewer preterm and low birth-weight babies
- Increase breastfeeding rates and successes (Between 1998 and 2016, breastfeeding rates amount WIC participants rose from 42% to 71%*)
- Support healthy growth and development
- Reduce iron deficiency anemia
- Reduce childhood obesity rates
*WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2016. Alexandria, VA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. Available online at: www.fns.usda.gov/research-and-analysis
WIC Services
- One-on-one and group breastfeeding support
- Referrals to International Board Certified Lactation Consultants
- Education for fathers and other family members
- Education and guidance for the delivery experience
- Breast pumps for qualifying mothers
- Regional Breastfeeding Liaisons (RBLs) who provide community capacity building for breastfeeding
- Nutrition assessment and education
- Personalized nutrition care plan with routine follow-ups
- Family centered meal planning
- Baby Behavior education about hunger, sleep, and crying cues to help reduce infant overfeeding and encourage exclusive breastfeeding
- Monthly supplemental food benefits that include fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, soy milk, tofu, formula and iron rich foods
- Shopping guidance
- Healthy recipes
- Referrals to health care and community services (including prenatal care, food assistance, substance abuse treatment, etc)
- Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs)
- Degreed nutritionists
- Health educators
- International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLCs)
- Certified Lactation Educators (CLE)
- Certified WIC Nutrition Assistants
- Breastfeeding Peer Counselors
The California Department of Public Health administers the WIC program throughout California in both county health departments and non-profit organizations.
California WIC enrolls 65% of all those eligible for the program. WIC serves 53% of all California resident live birth infants.
Help Connect Families with WIC
- Order free WIC brochures to share with your patients (available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Hmong, Armenian, Arabic, Punjabi, and Farsi).
- Refer patients to WIC by providing height, weight, recent hemoglobin (Hgb) or hematocrit (Hct) and estimated due date (EDD).
- If your patient requires a therapeutic formula for a medical condition, please fill out the Medical Formula and Nutritionals Request Form.
- Share the WIC website to find the latest income guidelines and other information. Also share our website for WIC families at MyFamily.WIC.ca.gov.
- Ask patients to call WIC’s automated toll-free line at 1-888-WIC-WORKS (1-888-942-9675), available in 5 languages.
Share local WIC agency information. Families living in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Orange Counties can call 1-888-942-2229, or text APPLY to 91997.
Families living in other areas of California can use the WIC Office locator to find their local agency information. Encourage patients to call before they go to their WIC office.
