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The Wisconsin WIC Association (WWA) along with the National WIC Association (NWA) is continuing to fight for an increase in the cash value benefits of the WIC food package as the Continuing Resolution expires on December 3rd.

For more information about what you can do to advocate and stay up to date with all NWA Actions, please visit the National WIC Association Website.

How does the increase in WIC fruit and vegetable cash value benefits positively impact Wisconsin WIC families?

SHARE YOUR STORY WITH US!

“The veggie and fruit increase has positively impacted my family by making it manageable to provide fruits and veggies on a regular basis. This allows my kids to be excited about them, enjoy them, and be curious to try new things. The continuation of increased WIC benefits will help as fruits and veggies costs increase over the winter months when the nutrients and vitamins are just as important to provide for my children.”

– WIC Mother; Calumet County WIC

“My family has been able to purchase some fresh fruits and vegetables that we could not afford in the past and it has greatly helped to improve our intake of fruits and vegetables.”

-WIC Mother; Clark County WIC

“[The increase if fruit and vegetable CBV] has benefited my child greatly because although he is not much of a veggie eater, we have been able to experiment with many different vegetables. Fruit is his absolute favorite food so we’ve been able to purchase a lot of fruit for him to eat as well.”

-WIC Mother; Fond Du Lac, WI

“It’s been so nice to have the $35 for fruits and vegetables. We can have variety now, which has been a huge benefit to our family. I Don’t have to always buy clearance veggies in the freezer section of the store, we can get more. The benefits allowed my family of 6 to say “YES!” to fresh watermelon and sweet corn while shopping this summer.”

-WIC Family; Jefferson County WIC

“With the WIC increase in fruit and vegetable dollars, i can get a better variety. It allows me to purchase some of the more expensive fruits and vegetables that I wouldn’t normally be able to afford. For example, I was able to buy squash and zucchini, and i found that my child really likes them!”

-WIC Mother; Madison, WI

“For my family and our place of origin, we traditionally like to eat mostly fruits and vegetables, but these foods are not always affordable in America the way that foods like chips and crackers are. This increased amount has allowed me to provide my son with many fruits and vegetables he likes to enjoy more often than the junk foods we are able to afford to purchase usually because of the difference in cost. I don’t want to provide him these “bad” foods. I want to give him healthy fruits and vegetables to eat like we would if we were able to stay in our home land.”

-WIC Refugee Family; Milwaukee, WI

“The benefit has really helped, even on top of the food share increase. Fruits and vegetables go really quick in our house.”

-WIC Family; Milwaukee, WI

“Earlier this week, a participant told me that the WIC $35 for fruits and vegetables is helping her eat healthier.”

-WIC Nutritionist/CPA; Sixteenth Street Community Health Center WIC, Milwaukee, WI

“I’ve always used my WIC benefits to buy apples and oranges, because they’re lower cost fruits. I don’t receive SNAP benefits, so I rely heavily on WIC. With the increase in fruits and vegetable dollars, I am able to stock up on a large variety, including frozen fruits, pineapples, mangoes, papayas, blueberries, cucumbers, and broccoli…The greater amount provides my kids the opportunity to explore new fruits and vegetables that they typically wouldn’t have access to. Especially with my picky eaters, this gives them the chance to find what they like to eat. It’s truly an active way to encourage families to buy new foods and for kids to try new foods. AND it allows us to have an abundance of the RIGHT things.”

-WIC Mother; Milwaukee, WI

“I LOVE IT. It is such a big help with increasing fruits and vegetables in our home.”

-WIC Guardian; Milwaukee, WI

“Quality fruits and vegetables, that my kids love, may not always be in season & they are a little more expensive. It’s worth it to buy these foods though, because they are healthy foods I know my picky toddlers will eat. The increase in WIC fruit & vegetable cash value benefits allows my family to not only put fruits and vegetables on the table, it helps to make sure my kids are getting the recommended amount of fruits and veggies daily. Before this increase, the $9 I received per child lasted barely a week to meet the recommended 3 servings of fruits and veggies every day. I understand this program is supplemental, but the old amount isn’t even getting my family through half of the month. This increase allows my children to have 3 servings of quality fruits and veggies every day of the month.”

-WIC Mother; Milwaukee, WI

“The increase in fruits and vegetable WIC dollars allows me to provide healthy options for my family. I would love to see this increase remain as I know it will continue to allow me to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables.”

-WIC Mother; Portage County WIC

“We have not ran out of fresh fruits or vegetables since this amount was added. We have been able to try fruits and vegetables that we would not spend money on before because if we didn’t like it, we would be short on food for the month. With extra money we have been able to try many new foods and we have even liked them all! I really like the increase in fruits and vegetables [CVB]. That is probably my favorite thing that has happened to WIC through the pandemic. It is so great to know that if my kids ask for something, like strawberries for a snack, and I can just say ‘yes’ without having to worry about not having enough money for meals.”

-WIC Family; Waupaca, WI

“I lost my job of almost 13 years last year due to the COVID pandemic. When you come from having everything and knocked down to nothing you wonder how you will survive. It’s hard to find trustworthy people to help with my children and childcare is so expensive. These dollars for the fruits and veggies make it so I have one less thing to worry about for the month.”

-WIC Mother; Oshkosh, WI

“A mother shared with me how she is able to offer more fruits and vegetables overall in her children’s diets to make their plates more balanced. They have also been purchasing more fresh produce rather than canned or frozen and buying varieties of fruits and veggies that are normally out of budget.”

– WIC Provider; Wautoma County WIC, Wautoma, WI

How else has the WIC program benefited our WIC families in 2021 …

“The increase in farmer’s market checks have been phenomenal! I was able to DOUBLE the amount of checks I had received at the farmer’s market I went shopping at because of a matching program at my farmer’s market. It was amazing getting to interact with the farmers and feel like I was really supporting my community, even though I normally would not have been able to spend the amount of money I did without WIC help. I love the farmer’s market because I feel like the vendors and farmers really take pride in what they sell, and the quality is unmatched.”

-WIC Mother; Milwaukee, WI