ACTION ALERT: Urge Congress to Support WIC Funding
Image Credit: civileats.com
On Saturday, congress narrowly avoided a government shut down by passing a stop gap spending bill. This means that several important programs can continue operation. Now the House continues to deliberate over funding bills, including well Farm Bill. The Farm Bill covers everything from agriculture spending to welfare programs like SNAP; reports from both the House and Senate tell us that under current Farm Bill drafts, benefits for Women, Infants, and Children are facing a dire threat.
What is WIC?
WIC is the acronym referring to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. The program helps low-income pregnant women and mothers with children under the age of five by supplementing diets with nutritious foods, educational information on healthy eating habit and breastfeeding support, and referrals to healthcare. The amount and type of benefits vary by family, based on the makeup of the household; for instance, households with infants under one year of age are able to access forumla and baby food, where as other children qualify for fresh fruits and vegetables. WIC helps families purchase nutritious foods that many would not have access to otherwise.
WIC is generally regarded as one of the most successful federal nutrition programs; it is cost effective and has real impacts. The program has been shown to improve birth outcomes, cognitive development, and growth rates (find out more about this research here). In addition, every $1 spent by the WIC program results in a $3.13 decrease in Medicaid spending. In 2022, the program had nearly 7 million participants, including 39% of infants in the U.S. Every dollar spent on WIC is shown to have tangible, positive impact on some of society’s most vulnerable members.
There are currently 165,422 WIC participants in the state of Arizona; about 52% of eligible mothers participate in the program, which is higher than the national average. WIC participants in Arizona are able to use their benefits at local farmers markets, stimulating local food systems while accessing healthy foods. WIC is distributed through our country health departments, and some counties in the state are considering dropping the program if it does not receive more funding.
Proposed Spending Cuts
Despite the WIC program’s importance in so many lives, neither the House nor Senate appropriation bills provide enough funding to protect the expected participation level. Since 1997, there has been a bipartisan agreement that the WIC program will be funded at a level that protects participation for all eligible women and children who apply so that states don’t have to turn away any hungry families, but current proposals violate this long-standing agreement. Even without spending cuts, the WIC program is in need of increased funding to keep up with recent inflation; current proposals would reduce WIC funding to pre-COVID levels, meaning some states will have to begin waitlisting families for the first time in decades. Other states plan to reduce the amount of money available to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables to spread resources to as many participants as possible. These cuts would take support away from millions of parents and leave many families struggling.
What can you do?
As followers of Christ, it is our duty to care for the vulnerable in our society. For us, that looks like making sure that low-income mothers and children are able to access nutritious foods, and our food banks and feeding ministries are not able to do that by themselves. As we continue to wait on a finalized 2023 Farm Bill, we ask you to urge our Representatives and Senators to support a bill that fully funds the WIC program. Call, email, or write the offices of Senator Sinema and Senator Kelly, as well as your congressperson, urging them to support a Farm Bill that increases WIC funding by the needed $1.4 billion, instead of cutting it.
Sample Letter
Below is a template letter which can be used for emails, written letters, and phone calls.
Dear Senator/Congressman/Congresswoman ________,
My name is ___, and I am one of your constituents living in [Town], AZ. I am writing/calling you today regarding the state of funding for the WIC program in the pending 2023 Farm Bill.
More than 165,000 Arizonans, and 7 million people nationwide, rely on WIC to supplement their nutrition and care for their families. If the current proposed cuts are approved, millions of people will be forced to go hungry and compromise their children’s nutritional needs. I am writing today to urge you not to support a Farm Bill that cuts funding to the program, and instead support one that allocates the additional $1.4 billion the program desperately needs. Otherwise, we not only face the loss of benefits for so many, but the potential of Arizona counties opting out of the program altogether.
As a person of faith, it is my calling and duty to make sure that the hungry are fed and the vulnerable are taken care of. Using my tax dollars to fund the WIC program is an important part of how that work gets done. I urge you to join me in extending protection to Arizonans in need.
Sincerely
————.
If you are able an willing, feel free to send a longer message, including any personal stories you or a loved one has regarding the WIC program.
“Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon.” (Isaih 58:10).
