WIC Benefits Last For Years To Come

There are more benefits than nutrition counseling, free healthy food packages, and breastfeeding support that participants gain from the Texas WIC program.

The WIC program is a government-funded nutritional program to help improve the health and nutrition for pregnant women and their children up to age 5. 

“WIC saves lives and improves the health of nutritionally at-risk women, infants and children,” according to the USDA. “The results of studies conducted by FNS and other non-government entities prove that WIC is one of the nation’s most successful and cost-effective nutrition intervention programs.”

The USDA outlines that participants get WIC benefits that may include:

  • Improved birth outcomes and health care cost savings
  • Improved diet
  • Improved infant feeding
  • Improved immunization rates and medical care
  • Improved growth rates
  • Earlier prenatal care
  • Better health outcomes for mothers 

And much, much more!

WIC participants also receive the following WIC benefits as part of the program: Supplemental nutritious foods as part of the free monthly food package. WIC clients get their food benefit lists loaded onto an EBT card. They can redeem their benefits when shopping for food. Learn more at TexasWIC.org.

WIC clients also receive nutrition education and counseling at WIC clinics and online. 

Better health and nutrition can last a lifetime. All of the WIC services can help ensure that pregnant women and their children have the best chance at a healthy life. WIC is an important program that should be taken advantage of by all who are eligible. 

Texas WIC experts can also help participants get connected to other health and social service resources. 

WIC is an important resource for parents, providing them with the knowledge and tools they need to give their children the best possible start in life. The program helps ensure that kids get the nutrients they need to grow up healthy and strong.

To apply to Texas WIC, visit online here.

By |2022-03-15T17:02:20-05:00March 22nd, 2022|Categories: Baby Food, Baby Formula, Child Health, Mom Health, Pregnancy, Texas WIC|Tags: , |0 Comments
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Make Recipes Using WIC Allowed Foods

Eat A Spoonful Of Luck This St. Patrick’s Day

Are you having a hard time getting your kids to eat the healthy green vegetables on their plate? 

This St. Patrick’s Day tell them eating their green vegetables means “good luck.” Only parents have to know that “good luck” comes in the form of “good health.”

Texas WIC is a program that is designed to help parents and children get a healthy start by providing nutrition counseling, support and healthy foods. WIC allowed foods are added to a monthly WIC EBT card to help women and children up to age 5 eat healthier.

WIC allowed foods can include any of the following depending on your qualifying food category determined by if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, an infant or child up to age 5.  WIC allowed Foods can include everything from milk, whole wheat bread, whole-grain cereal, peanut butter, beans fruits, vegetables and baby food and infant formula and more!

This St. Patrick’s Day cook your family a menu filled with luck (or healthy WIC approved foods.) We have rounded up a few healthy recipes for you to cook up featuring a bite or two of green for your family.

RECIPES USING WIC ALLOWED FOODS

WIC allowed foods

Baked Zucchini

2 Zucchini, sliced 1/4″ thick rounds

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

3 tbsp grated cheese of choice

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut zucchini into slices. Combine all ingredients (except zucchini and cheese) in a medium bowl. Mix spices and oil together. Add zucchini and toss. Place zucchini on a single layer on a cooking sheet. Cook in oven for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for about 5 more minutes.

 

You can’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day without cabbage. This recipe from the USDA’s MyPlate is the perfect cabbage recipe:

WIC allowed foods

 

Cabbage Comfort

1 onion (sliced)

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

4 1/2 cups cabbage (sliced)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

Heat oil in a large saute pan. Saute onion over medium heat, until light brown, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add sliced cabbage, salt, black pepper, and caraway seeds. Stir and cook for 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

For more St. Patrick’s Day recipes using WIC foods from the USDA. Check out this menu.

Get all your WIC foods at JC Food Mart in San Antonio. The grocery store caters to WIC clients and makes WIC grocery shopping easy. Check your WIC EBT before you shop. Plus, bilingual clerks will help you through your entire visit. Find a location near you. 

Did you make this WIC Inspired Recipe – Yogurt Bark? Let’s be friends.  Tag us on Instagram or Facebook using @jcfoodmart

Find more recipes using WIC foods on our blog.

 

 

 

 

By |2022-03-17T07:55:50-05:00March 17th, 2022|Categories: Recipes, Texas WIC|Tags: |0 Comments
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Government Food Program Serves Up Produce

Expanded WIC Fruit, Vegetable Benefits Extended Thru September 

Congress has approved another extension of WIC’s expanded fruit and vegetable benefits thru September 2022.

WIC is a government food program that provides nutrition counseling, breastfeeding support and monthly food packages of healthy foods for pregnant women, babies and children up to age 5.

“With the rising cost of food and the ongoing burden of healthcare costs, we must double down on effective measures like the WIC benefit bump that help children build nutritious diets and get a healthy start,” according to a statement from the National WIC Association.

WIC’s extended fruit and vegetable benefits now provide:

  • Children $24/month
  • Pregnant and postpartum participants receive $43/month
  • Breastfeeding participants receive $47/month

Texas WIC offers the following example about how a family may see additional benefits on their WIC EBT cards: 

If you are pregnant and have two children (ages 1-5) receiving WIC, you will get $91 ($43 mom + $24 child + $24 child = $91) each month to buy fruit and vegetables thru September. 

WIC clients will see this new amount on your shopping list under your benefit amount. 

WIC shoppers can use the expanded fruit and vegetable benefit to buy produce fresh, frozen, cans, glass jars, and plastic containers. For more information about WIC food benefits, visit TexasWIC.org.

GOVERNMENT FOOD PROGRAM PROVIDES SUPPORT

Since April 2021, more than 4.75 million women and children participating in WIC have received enhanced fruit and vegetable benefits in accordance with science-based recommendations. The WIC benefit bump has resulted in more than triple the amount of fruit and vegetable purchases, a greater variety of produce redeemed by WIC families, and increased fruit and vegetable consumption for young children, according to a statement released by the National WIC Association.

WIC GROCERY SHOPPING

Visit JC Food Mart in San Antonio to redeem your WIC benefits in one easy stop. JC Food Mart is a PWIC grocery store chain that specializes in catering to WIC clients. Shoppers can check their EBT balance BEFORE shopping and bilingual clerks assist shoppers throughout the shopping experience. Plus, everything in the store is WIC approved. SNAP is also accepted. Find a location here.

 

By |2022-05-17T08:16:48-05:00March 15th, 2022|Categories: San Antonio, Texas WIC, WIC Food, WIC Grocery Shopping, WIC Nutrition|Tags: , , |0 Comments
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Learn About Texas WIC Food List

If you are new or interested in joining Texas WIC, you are likely getting familiar with the Texas WIC food list. There are more WIC foods approved now than ever before. 

The WIC program offers free nutritional assistance for mothers to help them raise healthy children until they turn 5 years old. The program offers nutritional support, free classes, breastfeeding support, and free monthly food packages for expecting mothers and their children while they are on the program. 

Those Texas WIC free food packages are tailored to the mother’s and children’s nutritional needs as they advance through the program, depending on the child’s age. The food packages may include everything from tuna, milk, and cereal, fruits and vegetables for an expecting mother to the formula for babies and whole wheat pasta, bread, peanut butter, beans, and more for older children.

Texas WIC Food List

Each month you will get more familiar with the Texas WIC food list as you get your WIC groceries. You can also learn more about the food list and packages at TexasWIC.org.

The WIC food list is broken into the following categories: Pregnant women, moms and fully breastfeeding babies, moms and partially breastfeeding babies, moms and formula feeding babies, children 1 to 2 years and children 2 to 5 years. 

WIC client’s monthly food package benefits, all the foods from their WIC food list, are loaded onto a WIC EBT card for the client to redeem when shopping for their WIC groceries.

Grocery stores like JC Food Mart – which has locations in San Antonio – help mothers easily shop for WIC groceries. JC Food Mart is a primarily WIC grocery store chain that specializes in serving WIC clients. At the store, customers can see the benefits on their WIC EBT card before they shop. Because everything in the store is WIC approved clients don’t have to worry about finding all the correct WIC foods from their list.  Bilingual clerks help customers shop for their WIC foods from their list. The WIC clerks are familiar with the WIC program and make WIC shopping easier. 

  • Learn more about the Texas food list by visiting Texas WIC. 
  • To find a JC Food Mart location, visit us online at:jcfoodmart.com/locations. 
  • If you are not part of the Texas WIC program, apply online at TexasWIC.org/apply.
By |2022-03-15T10:37:20-05:00March 15th, 2022|Categories: Baby Food, Baby Formula, Mom Health, Pregnancy, Texas WIC, WIC Grocery Shopping, WIC Nutrition|Tags: |0 Comments
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Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs Helps Moms, Children

March is national nutrition month, a time to focus on the importance of good nutrition. Eating nutritious foods is essential for maintaining your health and well-being. 

For many people, that means taking steps to improve our diets and eating habits. If you’re looking for ways to get your family on the right track,  Texas WIC can help. WIC is a free supplemental nutrition assistance program for expecting mothers, mothers and children up to age 5. 

And it’s been shown to be effective: women and children on WIC have improved birth outcomes and it “significantly improves children’s diets,” according to the USDA.

WIC, A NUTRITIONAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM,  HELPS CHILDREN’S & MOMS HEALTH

Free supplemental nutrition assistance programs like WIC helps mothers and their children get a healthy start in many ways, but here are a few ways the supplemental nutrition program helps create healthy eating habits:

  1. Helping to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Fruits and vegetables are packed with fiber and nutrients, and they’re low in calories. They’re also a great source of antioxidants, which can help protect your body from disease.

Texas WIC is now offering more fruits and vegetable benefits than ever. Last year the program increased the program’s benefits to temporarily include even more fruit and vegetable benefits. Learn more about the expanded fruit and vegetable benefits here.

  1. Helping get fiber. 

Getting fiber is a great way to have a healthy diet. A great way to do that is to get whole grains and legumes into our diets. 

Texas WIC helps clients get even more whole grains in their diets. The WIC food lists for expecting mothers and older children include whole grains like whole-wheat bread, whole-wheat pasta and beans, which are filled with fiber.

  1. Diets with less added sugar. 

The WIC program offers healthy cereals as part of its free food benefit packages, to help ensure pregnant women and children have healthy foods that are not filled with extra sugars. 

Sometimes the hardest part of the battle is just knowing which cereal to pick. Texas WIC won’t steer you wrong when it comes to picking a healthy cereal.

JOIN WIC,  FREE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

If you are interested in joining Texas WIC, start your application online today.  

Pick up all your healthy WIC foods – from formula to fruit, vegetables, cereal, whole wheat foods and more – visit JC Food Mart.  Most of the products at JC Food Mart are WIC approved.

By |2022-03-15T08:56:25-05:00March 15th, 2022|Categories: Baby Food, Baby Formula, Child Health, Mom Health, San Antonio, Texas WIC|Tags: , , |0 Comments
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How To Eat Well With The WIC Program

If you’re a mom on a budget, you know how hard it can be to provide your family with healthy meals. But did you know that the Texas WIC program can help? Keep reading to learn how to eat healthy with WIC.

Texas WIC is a government program that provides financial assistance and nutrition education to low-income families. Learn how the WIC program works and learn a few tips for eating well on a budget.

1. What is WIC and what does it offer participants?

Texas WIC is is a nutrition education program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)  that helps moms provide a healthy start for their babies. The program provides free nutrition education, counseling, breastfeeding support, and free monthly supplemental food packages for pregnant women, postpartum women, and children up to age 5. 

2. How to apply for the WIC program?

If you are a Texas resident that is pregnant or are a mother of a child younger than 5 you can apply for the program by visiting WIC online to start your application or by calling 800-942-3678 to locate a WIC clinic to schedule an appointment to apply. 

3. What foods are available with the WIC program?

There are several free monthly food packages that are different for moms and children based on their age and nutritional needs. There is a specific food package for pregnant mothers that includes foods that, according to WIC, “are low in fat and high in fiber, provide nutritional variety and help promote a healthy weight gain for a healthy baby.”  Infants have packages that may include baby formula and older children have packages that include eggs, fruits and vegetables, cereals, and more.

4. How to use your WIC benefits

Texas WIC clients receive an EBT card that is loaded each month with their WIC benefits. Clients take their EBT to the store to redeem their benefits. Stores like JC Food Mart – which are PWIC stores that cater to WIC clients – help make it easy for WIC customers to get all their WIC products in one easy stop. 

5. Sample meal ideas to eat healthy with WIC

WIC-approved foods help make it easy to create healthy meals for your family. Use WIC-approved foods to make meals like omelets (which use WIC-approved eggs and vegetables), stir fry (using WIC foods like whole-wheat rice and vegetables), beans, and whole-wheat rice and pasta dishes use whole-wheat pasta and cheese. The options are endless and you know you are going to be eating healthier when you are cooking with WIC foods. Get more recipe ideas using WIC foods on our blog. 

The WIC program is a great way to get started on the path to healthy eating on a budget. With the help of JC Food Mart, it’s easy to find nutritious WIC-approved foods that your family will love.

By |2022-08-17T14:12:02-05:00February 25th, 2022|Categories: Baby Food, Child Health, Mom Health, Texas WIC, WIC Food, WIC Grocery Shopping, WIC Nutrition|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments
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Recalled Formula Update

We continue to monitor the Abbott Formula recall and update our customers as we become aware of any changes.

To find out if the product you have is included in this recall, visit similacrecall.com and type in the code on the bottom of the package, or call +1-800-986-8540 (U.S.) and follow the instructions provided.

For questions about exchanging or returning your formula for another kind, or about your benefits, please see your WIC Clinic. Texas WIC is working to develop instructions on how to handle the formula recall.  

Here at JC Food Mart, we have gone through our entire inventory and have removed all recalled products. We strive to adhere to and follow all manufacturer recalls.

We are also working with manufacturers to ensure that we receive new, unaffected product in stock as soon as possible. Rest assured that, your health and safety are very important to us. We will update this notice if Abbott puts out anything new on this subject.

Thank you. We do appreciate your business and patience while this manufacturer works to resolve this.

Customers can also contact Similac Customer Service at:

1-800-986-8540 or similacrecall.com

By |2022-02-21T12:20:09-05:00February 21st, 2022|Categories: Baby Formula, Texas WIC|Tags: , |0 Comments
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RECALL ALERT: Check Your Baby Formula

The FDA has announced a voluntary recall of Similac products (including Total Comfort, Spit Up and Sensitive). Consumers can check the bottom of their baby formula for the information below:
The products under recall have a multidigit number on the bottom of the container starting with the first two digits 22 through 37, contains K8, SH, or Z2 and with an expiration date of April 1, 2022, or after.
To find out if the product you have is included in this recall, visit similacrecall.com and type in the code on the bottom of the package, or call +1-800-986-8540 (U.S.) and follow the instructions provided. If you have questions about feeding your child, contact your healthcare professional.
Check back for updates.
By |2022-02-21T08:00:46-05:00February 18th, 2022|Categories: Baby Formula, Texas WIC, WIC Food|Tags: , |0 Comments
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WIC Inspired Recipes – Banana & Egg Pancakes

These banana & egg pancakes are quick & easy to make & can be enjoyed even by some of the pickiest toddlers. This simple pancake recipe only uses 2 main ingredients & is so delicious that you may never make regular pancakes again!

Banana & Egg Pancakes

2 Eggs

1 Banana

Cinnamon

Oil (Olive oil, etc)

Maple Syrup or Honey, Optional

Peel the banana & mash in a medium-sized bowl. In a separate bowl, crack the eggs & whisk them together. Pour eggs into the bowl of mashed banana, add a dash of cinnamon, and mix together. Heat a pan to medium heat & add oil. Slowly drop a large spoonful at a time of banana & egg mixture to pan & heat until golden brown on both sides. Top with honey, syrup, or your choice of fruit.

Enjoy!

WIC INSPIRED RECIPES FROM JC FOOD MART

Get all your WIC groceries in one easy stop at any JC Food Mart location in San Antonio. Bilingual clerks personally help you get all your WIC foods without all the hassle.

Did you make this WIC-inspired recipe? Let’s be friends.  Tag us on Instagram or Facebook using @jcfoodmart

 

By |2022-02-24T15:42:28-05:00February 4th, 2022|Categories: JC Food Mart, Meal Planning, Recipes, Texas WIC, WIC Food, WIC Grocery Shopping|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments
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Expecting A Baby in 2022? Let Texas WIC Help

If you are expecting a baby in 2022, Texas WIC can help you get off to a healthy start.

The program is open to eligible expecting mothers and mothers with children up to age five. To qualify, Texas residents must meet certain income requirements. (Learn more about the requirements below.) 

Texas WIC benefits are offered to qualifying expectant mothers in order to help them get proper nutrition and education while they are pregnant.  

Pregnant mothers can even get a free food package to help ensure they are getting healthy foods. Expecting mothers can access their FREE benefits with a Texas WIC ebt card, which allows clients to pay for their FREE monthly WIC food benefits such as eggs, cereal, fruits and vegetables and more!

The WIC program also provides important pregnancy education, including FREE online classes that help mothers to be on everything from how to plan for a healthy pregnancy and how to eat healthy while pregnant. Their education guidance also helps mothers know what to expect during pregnancy.

The program continues to help once the baby arrives by providing breastfeeding support and access to healthy nutrition for mothers and their babies.

Mothers can access all their WIC benefits in an easy, hassle-free shopping experience at any JC Food Mart store. There are 10 locations in San Antonio. All the groceries in the Primarily WIC store are WIC approved, and our bilingual clerks help make WIC shopping super easy. Find a location online at JCFoodMart.com/locations.

Are you Eligible for Texas WIC? Find Out If Texas WIC Can Help

To qualify for Texas WIC is open to Texas residents that are:

  • Pregnant women
  • Breastfeeding women
  • Infants
  • Families with children younger than 5 years old

Texas residents must also meet income requirements to join Texas WIC.

According to Texas WIC:  “If you are on Medicaid, TANF, or SNAP you meet the income eligibility guidelines for WIC. If you don’t qualify for these programs, you may still qualify for WIC by meeting the income guidelines for your household. The Recovery Rebate Credit, also known as stimulus checks, and the Child Tax Credit direct payments are not included when calculating your income to determine eligibility.”

WIC has provided these Gross Yearly Income guidelines from its website and was updated as of 7/19/22: 

Number of Household Members* Gross Yearly Household Income**
1 $0 up to $25,142
2 $0 up to $33,874
3 $0 up to $42,606
4 $0 up to $51,338
5 $0 up to $60,070
6 $0 up to $68,802

*A pregnant woman’s household is increased by the number of infants she is expecting. For more than 6 household members, or if you have any income questions, call 1-800-942-3678. This information is provided by Texas WIC, and is subject to change. Last updated 7/19/2022.

**Income can also be determined on a weekly or biweekly basis. For more information, call 1-800-942-3678. This information is provided by Texas WIC, and is subject to change. Last updated 7/19/2022.

Apply for Texas WIC online at TexasWIC.org/apply

 

By |2022-07-19T09:36:41-05:00January 21st, 2022|Categories: Baby Food, Baby Formula, Child Health, JC Food Mart, Mom Health, Pregnancy, Texas WIC, WIC Nutrition|Tags: , |0 Comments
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