WASHINGTON — Anita Mihtukwsun is a mother of six. She’s been able to put food on the table thanks to the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for women, infants and children, known as WIC.
“I honestly don't know how I would have gotten by without WIC a lot of times,” Mihtukwsun said.
Mihtukwsun also works as a WIC clerk, helping others apply for the program.
“If you're not being well fed, you're not going to be able to concentrate very well. You're not going to make great choices; you're not going to sleep well,” she said. “It just impacts everything.”
As a sign of the program’s broad support, lawmakers on Capitol Hill struck a bipartisan deal this year to provide an additional billion dollars in funding. The money allowed WIC to cover additional costs without having to reduce benefits or participation.
Julia Means, a registered nurse in Milwaukee, said she encourages eligible pregnant mothers she works with to sign up for WIC.
“You definitely need healthy foods while you're pregnant,” Means said. “And you want to raise your children with the capability and the knowledge of knowing what is healthy foods.”
Georgia Machell, the interim president and CEO of the National WIC Association, called WIC a “national treasure,” especially now, as America faces an increase in food costs, poverty rates and maternal mortality.
“We estimate that over the past 50 years, WIC has served over 270 million participants,” Machell said.
Still, Machell said she thinks there’s more Congress can do to help WIC for the next 50 years.
“We would love full support for the Modern WIC Act, which would help WIC participants enroll remotely, get benefits remotely, which has been a temporary benefit since the pandemic, and it would make that permanent, which would be a game changer for so many families and really reduce barriers to access,” she said.
Barriers to access could be a lack of transportation or the inability to take off work to sign up in-person.
Machell would also like to see WIC eligibility expanded to cover children up to age six instead of five, so there’s no gap in service before they start kindergarten, and allowing postpartum moms to stay on the program for two years instead of one.
Mihtukwsun said that would be “phenomenal.” She said as each child ages out of eligibility, she notices how it affects the amount of food available at home. Her two youngest sons are still on WIC, and her family continues to cook with WIC-approved foods.
“Everything starts with good nutrition,” Mihtukwsun said.