Applauding the WIC program

C&K*s Mommie wrote: I applaud the Department of Agriculture for choosing to update the WIC program by adding fruits and veggies to the list of approved foods. The food list had not changed much since the inception of the program back in the 70's, and I am happy that some children will be able to benefit from the additional healthy food choices. They are decreasing the amount of fruit juices, and milk that can be bought with the WIC vouchers, in or to accomodate the cost of the fruits and veggies, and are increasing the amounts of tuna that can be bought. WTG, Dept of Agri!

While we will not benefit from the addition of fruits and veggies, since we are not on WIC, I am pleased to know that other children and their mothers who may otherwise may not be able to afford the rising costs of f/v's can give their children healthy options now.

Here is the full story on Yahoo: Fruits and vegetables added to WIC list

mckayleesmom replied:

Maddie&EthansMom replied:

boyohboyohboy replied: Congrats to the WIC program, and heres to all the mothers that can now bennefit too!

My3LilMonkeys replied: That is a GREAT move. I know when I was on WIC I was giving away 1-2 gallons of milk a month so that it wouldn't go bad so I think lowering the amount of milk and including some fruits & veggies is wonderful!

huggybugboy replied: Thats awesome, I wish I was still on it! They should get rid of some of the eggs. 2 dozen eggs a month went to waste on us. We'd way rather have fruits and veggies in this house!

mammag replied: Wow, I didn't know that it wasn't on there in the first place.....that seems crazy! I'm glad to hear they corrected it.

A&A'smommy replied: WOW that is AWESOME!!!!!

MyLuvBugs replied: HA! According to our WIC office, it's only taken them 10 years to finally agree to this. I guess better late than never, huh?

But taking away milk to pay for the fruits and veggies?? seems kinda dumb. But at least there will be healthier items.

C&K*s Mommie replied: Actually, milk is not being taken away completely just reduced from 3cups daily for children aged 1-5 down to 2cups a day. Juice will be reduced too, from 9ounces daily down to 4oz for the same target age group. Some juice makers are up in arms about the changes, since the reductions will effect them. But at least they cannot complain that the natural sugars and antioxidants and vitamins from the f&v's will not be favorable. Kids need to get it from somewhere, just not as much now from juice- I suppose.

gr33n3y3z replied:

MyLuvBugs replied:
Yeah, I read the article. But to me that's taking away milk b/c Lorelei drinks 4-5 glasses of milk a day plus 2 glasses of water. We run out of vouchers quick b/c we use Milk so much. And by "reducing" it in the vouchers is just going to make it worse for us. If anything getting rid of the dried beans would make more sense to me. But that's just my opinion. At least they're finally putting Bread on there!

C&K*s Mommie replied: That would be my opinion too. Get rid of the dried beans, they are relatively inexpensive anyhow so they could be afforded more easily than say milk at $4/gallon or fruit at $2/lb.

CantWait replied:

As for the milk situation. Children only need 16-24 oz a milk a day anyway, so I think the added fruit will be a big benefit, especially since that food group is such a high requirement.

MyLuvBugs replied:
They may only "need" 16-24 oz. on average or as a minimum, but a lot of kids don't fall into the average, or they like more milk. Most Dr.'s, including the American Heart Assoc., recommend kids have 2 or MORE glasses of milk each day, and teens and older adults should get at least 4 glasses of milk each day.

Adding fresh Fruits & Veggies, soy milk and whole grain bread is a HUGE step in the right direction, and I truly applaud them for this....but lowering the dose of milk, IMO, isn't the right decision. Especially when there's so many other items they could cut out (ie. sugary hot/cold cereals and dried beans). I'm sure in 30 years they'll change it again.

~Roo'sMama~ replied:
I agree with you Erika, I'm really glad we can start getting fruits and veggies since we almost never can buy those since they are so spendy, but I'm not sure how we'll do with the decreased milk. Right now we're using it all up and could stand to have a bit more. We definitely get way more than enough juice though so that's no biggie.

~Roo'sMama~ replied:
Lol we use up all the eggs - I think we get 3 or 4 dozen since I'm on it as well as Andrew. We actually might run out of eggs this month and have to buy more, but eggs are cheap anyways so that's ok I guess.

BabyOwen427 replied: I am glad they are changing it, but I agree they shouldn't reduce the amount of milk. I go through at least 2 gallons of milk a week, I have to buy more milk before the month is up. But we don't eat many beans or rice and so I have lots of that just sitting in my cabinet taking up space. And I have taken some of the juice we get and put it in the deep freeze because we don't drink it as fast as we get it.
I think adding fruits and veggies is great, but they should not decrease the milk, that is a very vital item.
Since they are going to be considering the change for a while and accepting feedback. A survey of all WIC participants the next time they pick up their vouchers would be great, it shoud ask what that particular family uses most, when I first got on WIC they asked me if I would like peanut butter or rice/beans more. Why can't they individualize it even more and not just between two items? Custom made for the family, because what we don't eat is wasted, and I am sure that holds true for many families. Wasted food is just wasted money for both the families and the gov't.
JMO

flirtycuddle replied: Is this change for the whole country or just one state? i am supposed to be getting WIC but with the bedrest and my dad being busy I haven't gotten it in 2 months but will at the end of this month.

MommyToAshley replied: I think it is great they are adding fruits and veggies! But, I find it odd that they would reduce the amount of milk ... shouldn't they replace some of the fruit juice since this is the food category they are supplementing? Who is making these decisions anyways?

C&K*s Mommie replied: That maybe something that you could write to the Dept of Agri about, or if you find another channel of communication, you could make it known. They may never know unless you say something.

AlexsPajamaMama replied:
2 cups of milk and 4oz of juice daily is what our ped. recommended for that age group anyway, so I think it was a smart move to reduce those amounts from wic and add fruits and vegetables!

3_call_me_mama replied: I think the changes are great.. and as far as the juice makers concerns I think peopel forget that children candrink WATER! And actually should drink water. It is far healthier to eat an apple than it is to drink a glass of apple juice, nutrients are loss as wel as sugar content being more concentrated. Also it's not straight juice you generally get form WIC it's juice concentrate, which is suppoesd to be 100% juice but has added stuff, like vitamin C and citric acid. UMM 100% juice would be only that JUICE> and it's only equivalent when it's properly reconstituted, which a large portion of the time it isn't. Also I think teh milk reduction is a good thing, as studies show that several childrne drink far to much milk and dont' eat enough in place oif drinking all that milk. Also if it's whole milk they are drinking they are getting a hugh amount of fat intake that they really should be getting from other sources. (Not to mention bowel problems that are caused by too much milk). I think the biggest thing to remember is that WIC is a supplemental program offered by teh department of agriculture. It' is not intended to provide all of any food group that you need to feed teh people on teh program. It's there to HELP and assist in what you purchase on your own. To ensure that every child has access to these foods in their diet. Also getting rid of the dried beans woudl greatly hurt a lot of vegetarian people on teh program. It is a protein source, in teh same line as teh tuna fish and the peanut butter. It is not there as a vegetable. (Although beans can be counted as either) Generally only those that are nursing and still recieve wic get teh beans (at least in VT that's how it works)
And not every state has teh same choices and options even though it is federally funded. Some states liek VT laready have vouchers for farmer markets to reviece fresh fruits and veggies from June until end of october. While some other states do not have this option (at least i have been told that ) also soem states recieve only certain brands of formula, nad others have more choice. ANd lastly not everyone has teh option to use a check at teh grocery store for the food. IN VT it's home delivery. You get teh food dropped off at your doorstep at about 3-4 am regardless of weather conditions. (RAIN< HEAT or SNOW) and it's quite possibel that your food is either soggy, or froxen or quite warm when you get it in teh AM when you wake. You also preorder your food at your visit. And cannot change your order after teh first of teh month. (So if you pick cheerios at your visit and you decide you want Kix half way through the month you have to wait to teh next month and not teh next tiem you go to teh store. Also you have to get teh change approved by the nutrition counselor)
Overall I think the program has wonderful intentions and really does help a lot of families out and it's great that they are adding fresh fruit and veggies to the menu, but it also still has a bunch of kinks to work out (what government program doesn't")