HICKORY, N.C. —  The price of groceries is taking a toll on millions of families, but there is a long-standing federal program to help families fight that cost. It's called "WIC," a special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children.

What You Need To Know

  • Catawba County Public Health wants to remind families about WIC, the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children
  • WIC provides nutritional food for eligible families at no cost at supporting grocery stores and is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture
  • A person with Medicaid or food stamps automatically meets the income requirements

Catawba County Public Health says some families don't even know they're eligible.

Julia Foust takes care of her grandchildren full-time. 

"I have 24 grandkids, and six children," Foust said. 

During her weekly trip to the grocery store, two of her youngest grandkids tag along with her while they shopped for fruits and vegetables. 

She uses WIC to cut down on grocery costs. 

"I have been on the WIC program, good gracious, so long. I started with my oldest, that was 42 years ago," said Foust. 

The program is for qualifying children under five, infants and postpartum or breastfeeding mothers. 

It provides certain grocery items at no cost. 

"They added new items this year, like tube yogurt. The kids love these yogurts," said Foust. 

Jeremy Stockton, the WIC director at Catawba County Public Health, says some families may be missing out on WIC because they think they don't qualify. 

“If they have SNAP or if they have Medicaid, or those types of services, they are automatically eligible for WIC services," Stockton said. 

Stockton says if you don't qualify for Medicaid, you could still qualify for WIC.

Eligibility depends on the federal poverty level and varies with households. 

A family of four has to make $55,500 or less a year. A family of five, $65,009. 

You can apply through your health department's website and quickly receive benefits. 

“If they come on a Monday with an appointment after filling out their information online, typically, they can leave with the WIC card right then with benefits on it," Stockton said. 

Also gone are the days when WIC benefits were printed on big pink checks. Now, it's simply put all on a card. 

"Its so easy, I just click the E-WIC button during check out at the store and swipe the card," said Foust. 

Foust says for her growing family, WIC saves them hundreds of dollars. 

"The economy is off the chain, this is a lifesaver. If my daughter didn’t have WIC to help feed the baby, I don’t know how we would do it," said Foust. 

The program also includes nutritional meetings every few months so families know what to shop for. 

In Catawba County in 2019, they averaged 2,466 women and children per month in the WIC program. 

In 2022, they were up. The county averaged over 200 more than that.