Anita Mihtukwsun is a mother of six. For nearly 15 years, she has been able to put food on the table with the help of the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for women, infants and children, more commonly known as WIC.
“When you live paycheck to paycheck, there’s some days that you think, like, ‘How am I going to feed my family? I don’t want to feed them just cereal,’” Mihtukwsun said.
Mihtukwsun also works as a WIC clerk, helping other families apply for the program. She said WIC’s fruits and vegetable dollars allow her to create healthy meals.
“Instead of feeling guilty that you’re not giving your kids the proper nutrition because you don’t have the money for it, with WIC we’re able to provide that for our kids,” she said.
WIC provides nutritious food to millions of children and pregnant women. More than 90,000 of them are in Wisconsin. Because of higher food costs and greater participation than expected, WIC is facing a billion-dollar shortfall. So far, Congress has only maintained funding at last year’s levels. Unless Congress steps in to provide full funding, some of those eligible recipients will not be able to receive all their benefits.
That means 27,000 eligible Wisconsin residents could be turned away from WIC benefits by September, according to the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
“WIC leads to longer pregnancies, so reduced rate of early birth, as well as reduced the possibilities of low birth weight, [and] improved child health outcomes, so improved cognitive scores, lower incidences of obesity and diabetes,” said Nell Menefee-Libey, the senior public policy manager at the National WIC Association.
She adds that the House Agriculture appropriations bill for this year proposes cutting WIC’s fruit and vegetable benefit by as much as 70% for some participants.
“This would be unprecedented in the program’s 50 year history,” Menefee-Libey said. “Congress has never cut the food benefit in order to defray program costs. And it would be hugely disappointing to see a step back in the kinds of public health gains that the fruit and vegetable benefit has made possible for families.”
Congresswoman Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, agrees.
“I think that it will jeopardize teaching good, healthy habits. And there’ll be a tremendous burden on our health care system if we don’t take advantage of teaching good nutrition at a young age,” Rep. Moore said.
In 2022, the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to an abortion in a decision known as Dobbs. Moore added that in a post-Roe era, WIC is especially important.
“There’s such great debate about not wanting women to have abortions but, you know, the continuum of care is to make sure that they’re healthy during their pregnancies and after they give birth,” Moore said. “Let’s not just give up on a woman’s and children’s need for good nutrition and nutritional support once they’re born.”
As for Mihtukwsun, she said her two youngest sons are still on WIC because they haven’t aged out yet. Her family continues to cook with WIC-approved foods.
“These areas that are very much in poverty-level need these to make sure that the kids out there, which are our future, are getting the proper nutrition, so that they can do better in school, that they can one day be productive members of society,” Mihtukwsun said. “This is an amazing program.”
The next deadline to fund the federal government is March 1, and it remains to be seen whether Congress will provide WIC with the money needed to close its shortfall and ensure that everyone eligible for benefits receives them.