Despite shutdown, WIC benefits for moms and kids continue — and you can still sign up

Millions of families in California are expected to lose their CalFresh benefits Saturday due to the federal government shutdown, but state officials say the federal food aid program for pregnant women and young children will remain available at least through the end of November.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children — or WIC — provides low-income mothers and families with children under 5 assistance to buy food staples and infant formula.

About a million people in the state are served through the program each month.

The program — along with CalFresh — had been at risk with the government shutdown, but the Trump administration has provided some funding for the WIC program for now. The California Department of Public Health, which administers WIC, says the program received additional funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and expects it “to remain fully operational through Nov. 30, assuming no unexpected changes at the federal government level.”

According to a 2021 estimate, a third of people who were eligible for WIC were not enrolled in California, according to an analysis from the USDA.

Sarah Diaz,  policy and media coordinator at the California WIC Association, said people who are not enrolled in WIC yet should check to see if they’re eligible.

“If you are on CalFresh and you are pregnant, breastfeeding or [have] a child under the age of 5, you are automatically eligible for WIC,” Diaz said. She said government workers who are furloughed due to the shutdown also could be eligible.

Diaz said about half of people who use WIC in the state also use CalFresh, which is federally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.  

“Knowing that a lot of our families are depending on both WIC and SNAP and SNAP’s not going to be available for them is really, really difficult,” she said.