By Anastassia Roberts, American Red Cross intern

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the partnership between the American Red Cross in San Diego and the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. This program provides access to food benefits, nutrition education, breastfeeding support and community referrals for women and children in San Diego communities.

In 1974, Red Cross nursing staff were assisting pregnant, inner-city teenagers when they discovered WIC and created a partnership in San Diego County to administer help to families in need. Ever since, Red Cross WIC has been providing services to families throughout San Diego County.

Here are 10 things you should know about WIC:

• WIC is a resource available to people who are pregnant, have recently lost a pregnancy, gave birth within the last 6 months, are breastfeeding a baby under age 1, or have a child under age 5.
• There are certain income requirements to qualify for WIC. If you don’t meet these income guidelines but are on Medi-Cal, CalWORKs (TANF), CalFresh (Food Stamps/SNAP) or unemployment benefits, you may still qualify.
• WIC benefits are loaded onto a WIC card. Families get a dollar amount to spend on fruits and vegetables. They can also buy other foods like whole grains, milk, cheese, beans and iron fortified infant formula with their WIC card. Food packages are designed to meet the needs of a family throughout each life stage.
• Red Cross WIC offers breastfeeding peer counseling services to support individual's breastfeeding journey every step of the way through prenatal education, in-person and virtual support sessions and latch assistance.
• WIC participants can get breast pumps through WIC, including support on how to use them.
• Many military families qualify for WIC, and WIC does not count Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) towards income requirements. California has the highest population of any U.S. state of active duty and reserve members of the military.
• Just like other Red Cross services, WIC is available for anyone who qualifies, regardless of their race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation or citizenship status.
• Offering appointments in a way that works best for families is important to WIC. During the COVID-19 pandemic, all appointments became virtual. Now, all appointments can still be done over the phone. There are also in-person options for certain types of appointments.
• In San Diego, Red Cross WIC supports about 17,000 participants each month.
• There are five Red Cross WIC offices staffed by 52 team members in Oceanside, El Cajon, Spring Valley, and San Diego locations. Various team members speak English, Spanish, Arabic, Lao, Thai, Khmer, Portuguese, Vietnamese, French, Chaldean and Dutch.

If you believe you may qualify for WIC services, we encourage you to reach out and apply. If WIC can’t offer a specific service, they will direct you to an organization in their network through community referrals. Learn more at sandiegowic.org.