WIC is a nutrition program for:

• Pregnant women
• Breastfeeding women (up to one year postpartum)
• Non-breastfeeding, postpartum women (up to 6 months postpartum)
• Infants
• Children until the age of 5 years

The WIC Program provides:

• Nutrition education including breastfeeding support
• Nutritious foods to supplement a person's routine diet
• Screening and referral

WIC participants must meet certain financial requirements.

• Welcome to WIC (English)
• Welcome to WIC (Spanish)

Do you have questions about how to use your Allowable Foods List? Watch this video for more details.

• Closer Look: Allowable Foods List (English)
• Closer Look: Allowable Foods List (Spanish)

WIC participants receive these benefits:

1. Supplemental Foods. WIC participants receive monthly checks for healthy foods to supplement their diet. Typical foods are low-fat milk, cereal, eggs, cheese, juice, beans, peanut butter, whole-grain, fresh fruits and vegetables.
   Allowable food list in English
   Allowable food list in Spanish
2. Nutrition Education. At each WIC visit (at a minimum every three months), participants or their guardian receive personalized nutrition counseltations and breastfeeding support.
3. Screening and Referral. WIC participants are screened to assess their health status. Additionally, WIC participatns are informed of other community resources that may benefit them or their family.

The WIC Program has been successful in improving the health of pregnant women, infants and children and in reducing health care costs. Various studies indicate that WIC participation:

• Reduces the number of premature and low-birth-weight babies
• Reduces Medicaid costs
• Improves diets
• Reduces deficiency anemia
• Improves cognitive development in WIC children
• Improves immunization rates
• Increases breastfeeding duration rates
• Reduces infant mortality
• Decreased infant mortality

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides funding and policy to the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) to operate the WIC Program in the State of Colorado. CDPHE in turn provides funding and policy to county health departments, nursing services or community health centers to provide WIC services for people in individual Colorado counties.

In order to participate in the Colorado WIC Program a person must meet the following three criteria:

1. Categorical - a person must be one of the following:

   • Pregnant woman

   • Breastfeeding woman (up to one year after the delivery of a baby)

   • Postpartum woman who is not breastfeeding (up to 6 months after the delivery of a baby)

   • Infant

   • Child up to 5 years of age

   Not all categories are served in all Colorado counties. In Weld, Rio Grande, Conejos, and Costilla counties the categories served by WIC are limited because of the availability of the Commodity Supplemental Foods Program.

2. Income - In order to be financially eligible for WIC in Colorado, a participant’s combined family gross income cannot exceed 185% of the federal poverty standards.

WIC INCOME ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES

These income guidelines are effective July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012

NOTE: Add one to household size for a pregnant woman

Use the following steps to manually calculate gross income.

• If a household had only one income source or if all income sources have the same frequency, compare the income, or the sum of the separate incomes, to the published WIC Income Eligibility Guidelines for the appropriate frequency and household size.
• If a household reports income sources at more than one frequency, perform the following calculations.
  
  • Annualize all income by multiplying weekly income by 52, income received every two weeks by 26, income received twice a month by 24, and income received monthly by 12.
  • Do no round the values resulting from each conversion.
  • Add together all the unrounded, converted values.
  • Compare the total to the annual income for the appropriate household size to determine income eligibility.

3. Address - Participants in the Colorado WIC program must live in Colorado. Generally, they are also required to be served in the county where they live. In some cases one local WIC agency may serve several counties. In that case, a person must be served by the local agency that provides services for their county.

Not sure if you qualify? You can also complete the online WIC Prescreening Tool to determine if you may be eligible for WIC benefits. This Prescreening Tool is not an application for WIC.  To apply for WIC benefits, please call your local WIC clinic.

Health Questionnaires

Effective April 1st, 2010

Allowable Food List (English)
The foods offered to Colorado WIC participants include a variety of healthy choices, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grain items. These foods were chosen to address the nutritional needs of today’s population, to improve the health of WIC participants, and to support the nutritional education provided during WIC visits.

Lista Permisible del Alimento (española)
Los alimentos de WIC incluyen una amplia variedad de alimentos sanos como las frutas, vegetales y granos integrales, como el pan integral. Los alimentos WIC buscan satisfacer las necesidades de nutrición de la población actual y mejorar la salud de los participantes de WIC.

Bienvenidos a la guía de alimentos de WIC del Programa WIC de Colorado.
Los alimentos de WIC incluyen una amplia variedad de alimentos sanos como las frutas, vegetales y granos integrales, como el pan integral. Los alimentos WIC buscan satisfacer las necesidades de nutrición de la población actual y mejorar la salud de los participantes de WIC. Vamos a ver cuáes son los alimentos interesantes y nutritivos que ya forman parte de WIC de Colorado.

Coming Soon!