WIC Resources

WIC Resources

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides food assistance, nutrition education, and health care referrals for pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and children.

What’s New with WIC?

WIC Flexibilities

Access WIC Services Remotely
Many of the local WIC agencies are now offering services by phone, drive-up, mail or online until further notice.  Contact your local WIC office to find out how they’re operating right now.

WIC Shopping Flexibilities
WIC families now have more options in a variety of food categories to help address WIC product shortages.

If typical products are not in stock at the store, below are new WIC-approved substitutions:

• Purchase Jif, Skippy, and Peter Pan peanut butters in the same size.
• Substitute large eggs for a dozen medium, extra-large, jumbo or brown eggs (organic, free-range or specialty eggs are not allowed).
• Purchase quarts, half gallons, or gallons of milk to total the number of gallons on the checks.
• Purchase milk with a fat content closest to what’s issued on the checks (substitutions are not allowed for lactose-free, organic, flavored, or other milk alternatives).
• Purchase certain alternate brands of whole wheat bread
• Purchase Beech-Nut, Gerber, or Tippy Toes brand of 4-ounce jars equal to the total amount listed on the checks.

You can find more details and food guides on the Department of Health and Senior Services website.

Program Overview

Eligibility

All participants must be a Missouri resident and further eligibility is based on three (3) additional things: category, income, and nutritional risk. 

• Category: 
  • Pregnant women 
  • Women breastfeeding an infant up to the infant’s 1st birthday 
  • Postpartum women up to six (6) months after delivery or end of pregnancy 
  • Infants up to their 1st birthday 
  • Children until their 5th birthday 
  • Fathers, grandparents, guardians, and foster parents may also apply for benefits for the children living in their household. 

• Income: 
  • Household income may be no more than 185% of the federal poverty income guidelines. Families that qualify for SNAP or TANF automatically qualify.

• Nutrition Risk:
  • Individuals who meet income and category guidelines will have a nutrition and health assessment during the certification process. 

• To see if you qualify for the Missouri WIC program, please visit the income guidelines or the prescreen tool for further information. 

Application Process

To apply for WIC benefits, you must contact a local WIC agency near you. View this map to find an office near you, or contact TEL-LINK at 1-800-835-5465 for assistance. 

Benefits

WIC provides supplemental food, nutrition education, breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to health care. For information about food benefits, reference the complete list of Missouri WIC-approved foods (lista de Comida española).

• WIC encourages and provides support for breastfeeding. For babies who are not fully breastfed, iron fortified infant formula can be provided.
• At six (6) months of age, infants may receive infant cereal, fruit, and vegetables. Infants who are fully breastfed also receive infant meat.
• Women and children can receive milk; soy milk; eggs; cheese and yogurt; cold and hot cereal; juice; peanut butter; dried beans, peas and lentils; canned beans; infant cereal; infant formula; infant fruit, vegetables and meats; tofu; tuna; sardines and salmon; whole grain breads; brown rice; tortillas; whole wheat pasta; and fresh and frozen fruit and vegetables. 
• Women who fully breastfeed their babies may also receive extra food including canned tuna, salmon, or sardines.
• Women, infants, and children who have certain medical conditions may also be provided exempt formula and WIC eligible nutritionals.
  • Be sure to ask your nutritional specialist about possible substitutions to fit your dietary needs and preferences.

Where can WIC be used?

Benefits can be used at authorized WIC stores. All participating stores should have a sign at their entrance and signs on approved food items throughout the store.

Contact Information

Department of Health and Senior Services
WIC and Nutrition Services
1-800-835-5465
health.mo.gov

Shopping with WIC

eWIC Makes Shopping with WIC Easier!

• The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ (DHSS) WIC program is fully operating with an EBT system called eWIC.
• WIC benefits are loaded for current and future months on the eWIC card making it easier to redeem benefits for participants and retailers.
• Click here to read more about how to use eWIC and find answers to frequently asked questions on the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) website.

Download the WICShopper App

• WICShopper app is a WIC smartphone application that can be downloaded through the Apple App Store and Google play store for free.
• It allows participants to register their eWIC cards to help track their benefits throughout each month.
• It also allows participants to scan an item’s Universal Product Code (UPC) to identify WIC-approved food items in the store before checking out.
• The app features nutritional info, food preparation tips and recipes.
  • For more tips and info visit the WICShopper website.

WIC Questions & Answers