WIC
WIC is the supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children — a federally-funded program that provides free healthy foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and referrals. WIC serves women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, and/or up to 6 months postpartum, infants, and children up to five years of age.
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CONTACT
Please schedule your appointment in advance by calling:
Durango | 970 335 2026
Pagosa Springs | 970 264 2409 x202
We are now taking walk-in appointments at our Durango office on Fridays from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for WIC clients in need of a follow-up, mid-certification, or re-certification.
New clients and add-baby appointments still require scheduled appointments.
WIC SERVICES
Your first visit will last anywhere from one to two hours; initial appointments for pregnant women typically only take an hour, while individuals who already have one or more children will need to plan for a longer first appointment. At the first WIC appointment, we will confirm eligibility, and screen you and your child(ren) for height, weight, and hemoglobin (check blood for anemia). We will also conduct a nutrition interview and provide appropriate nutrition education and referrals, if necessary.
After enrollment, you will receive an eWIC debit card to use (starting that day!) at local participating grocery stores, which you may use to purchase nutritious WIC foods.
Please bring:
- Identification
- Proof of physical address
- Proof of income
WIC mothers are strongly encouraged to breastfeed their infants unless there is a medical reason not to. Research shows there is no better food than breast milk during a baby’s first year of life. Breastfeeding provides many health, nutritional, economical, and emotional benefits to mother and baby.
WIC provides access to trained breastfeed peer counselors for any interested moms.
- Live in Colorado; U.S. citizenship is not required
- Are pregnant or breastfeeding, and/or have a child younger than 5 years
- Have a family income less than WIC guidelines
- Currently receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or Health First Colorado (Medicaid)
- Have a foster child under age five
Colorado WIC recently switched from using paper WIC checks to a convenient eWIC debit card.
WIC clients can expect a better shopping experience and fewer trips to the WIC office:
- Swipe card instead of using paper checks
- No need to separate WIC items at check out
- No need to buy all WIC items at once
- Check your eWIC balance by logging in online or see remaining balance on receipt
- We can load and adjust monthly benefits remotely instead of printing checks at our office.
- Replace some in-person appointments with an online nutrition education lesson. Complete a lesson on WICHealth.org and we’ll load your benefits remotely.
With supplementary grant funding, SJBPH WIC and a network of local partners were able to increase access to healthy foods and promote the WIC program through a free farm stand, a new preschool garden, and on-site placement and promotion strategies for healthy foods at local Head Start centers. The Garden Project of Southwest Colorado and Tri-County Head Start helped facilitate free farm stands – “Manna Markets” – geared towards low-income community members in La Plata County. Additionally, the WIC program has provided a great return on investment given its benefit to the local economy by contributing over $500,000 in retail value for healthy foods in 2016.
- Read WIC program increasing access to healthy foods, by Jenny Pritchard, Program Manager
Do you know where to get healthy and affordable foods for your family?