Wic Program Case Study

As a childcare provider I must ensure quality meals are served to children and that nutrition education is encouraged. I offer a variety of foods for our preschoolers and toddlers. Each meal has whole grain bread, a serving of vegetables, and a serving of fruit, with a meat or meat alternate, and milk is served with each meal. I believe that my menu meets all the requirement for a child’s nutritional needs according to the “National Standards for Child Nutrition Programs”

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Nutritional Services is a federal program that provides health care and proper nutrition to low income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women during a crucial time for both mothers and babies. The mission of WIC is to “safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care.” (Food and Nutrition Service, 2010).

WIC program target low-income populations who are exposed to nutritional risks. Among these, women, infants and small children considered to be most at risk. The program, therefore, intends to cater for pregnant women, up to the end of the pregnancy period, or up to 6 weeks after birth, breastfeeding women up to one year after birth, infants to their first birthday, and children till they reach five years of age. Through this policy, their health is safeguarded facilitating for a healthy normal life to the newborn. Among the benefits accrued by the beneficiaries are supplemental nutritious food, nutritional counseling and education, and access to other health,

WIC assists recipients to helps sustain healthy growth and development by meeting nutritional needs as well as by providing recipients with education on the benefits of nutritious food habits so that these habits can continue long after eligibility for WIC benefits ends. WIC is funded annually through the appropriations committee process by grants to each state. The program is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food, and Nutrition Service

The objectives for the Healthy People 2020 program include desired progress in nutrition and weight issues, and there are few communities in the country that do not need to pay a significant amount of attention to these problems (Healthy People, 2012). New Jersey is actually faring better than many states across many indicators, including overall obesity, however overweight and obesity as well as the behaviors that place people at risk for developing obesity are still major problems for adults and for children in communities across the state (CDC, 2012; Manalapan Board of Health; New Jersey Department of Education, 2010). Addressing childhood obesity in a manner that corrects problems from the outset and that teaches preventative methods in a proactive attempt to reduce both childhood and adult obesity levels is a key concern of Manalapan Township, specifically, and this issue is examined further in the following pages.

47. The WIC program is a nutritional education component that takes care of people who can’t take care of themselves.

I feel there are many strengths to this Supplemental Nutrition Program. For instance, studies show that WIC plays an important role in improving birth outcomes and containing health-care costs. WIC has a positive impact on children’s diets and also provides nutrition and education counseling. WIC also improves infant-feeding practices by actively promoting breastfeeding as the best method of feeding infants. These are just a few of the strengths this program has to offer.

Team BLAZE (Beginning Life with AmaZing Examples) is a project designed to decrease childhood obesity in low income school districts. Team BLAZE is a school based program that incorporates healthy nutritional options along with daily physical activities within a safe learning environment to low income regions in America. The program initially focuses on children ages 5-17 in the rural Mississippi Delta, where obesity rates “far exceed those of the state and nation” (Gamble et al., 2012, p 478). Team BLAZE is modeled after Save the Children’s CHANGE (Creating Healthy, Active and Nurturing Growing-Up Environments) study, a 2-year (2007-2009) randomized, controlled, community and school-based intervention to prevent unhealthy weight gain among rural school aged children (Save the Children, 2008). The CHANGE study used an innovative, multicomponent community-based intervention in rural America to improve the diets of children and proved to be successful in lowering rates of obesity at the studied locations (Save the Children, 2008). Likewise, Team BLAZE uses a multidirectional approach by targeting changes in school nutrition,

        The WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 mandated that any school receiving federal funding would be required to create a school wellness policy by 2006 (Wharton, Long & Schwartz, 2008). The policies created would set guidelines for all foods that are sold on campus in order to reduce the chance of obesity (Wharton, Long & Schwartz, 2008). This is a policy that has provided some attention to the issue of nutrition in the school systems and would provide an opportunity for school nurses, dietitians and other personnel to influence the food policies of the districts in which they work or live (Wharton, Long & Schwartz, 2008).

The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was passed in order to reauthorize child nutrition programs. It provides funding and sets policy for nutrition programs such as the National School Lunch Program, the School Breakfast Program, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Each local agency that participates in the National School Lunch Program or other federal child nutrition program is required by law to establish a local school wellness policy for all schools under its jurisdiction.

The rate of childhood obesity in New Jersey remains high, and put children at risk of developing chronic diseases in adulthood. Children living in low-income communities are more vulnerable due to several factors influencing their food choices. Thus, through the Nutritiously Me program, The Rak Foundation for Nutritional Awareness (RFNA) envisions to produce a healthy dietary behavior change among low-income communities of New Jersey.

WIC is a supplemental food program for pregnant and postpartum women and infants through the age of five years. The dieticians spoke of the food’s nutritional quality, the health benefits, how to sign up for WIC and the support given to mothers and children while on the WIC program. The dieticians reported they also provided referrals as needed for medical care, early childhood programs and additional food support options. The website reports that, “Nutrition education is the cornerstone of this public health program” (Hennepin County, 2016j). The website gives information on applying for WIC, education on the different food groups and information on buying fresh, local food from farmers markets (Hennepin County,

Low socioeconomic status individuals have limited access to healthy and affordable foods which sequentially contributes to obesity. One might contend that the government provides assistance (WIC and Food Stamps) to

The obesity epidemic is at an all-time high as evidenced by the fact that there are more overweight and obese people than those of healthy weight in the U.S. today. Many political, medical and surgical interventions have proven to be largely unsuccessful. There has only been marginal success with government led nutritional initiatives such as First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move campaign. The key to ending this obesity epidemic lies within health promotion. Nurses possess the essential skills and training developed from nursing practice to use health promotion and preventative health care to target at risk clients and communities before obesity develops. Through teaching, especially children what foods they should eat and the right portion size we can save the next generation from an obesity epidemic.

The registered dietician at the WICC department provided lots of education for the clients that I observed. She provided proper nutrition education for their age recommendation based on the MyPlate and food pyramid. She spoke at length with each client about meeting requirements and ways to include certain foods in their diets. She educated the parents on proper weight/height guideline. She provided each parents or client with educational material regarding nutrition guidelines based on age. The pamphlets were based on age starting at 1 year and went through 5 years of age. She also educated the parents of infants on proper nutrition regarding bottle, sippy cup and pacifier use. The appointments were used to give vouchers for purchase