Federal program

Women, Infants, and Children

Administered by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. State implementation varies — this page covers the federal floor; the per-state pages below carry the branded program names, max benefits, and application URLs.

Federal eligibility baseline

WIC is a federally funded supplemental nutrition program administered by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). It covers pregnant women, postpartum women up to six months, breastfeeding women up to one year, infants, and children under age five. The federal income limit is 185% of the federal poverty guideline — $59,478 a year for a household of three in FY 2025. Anyone enrolled in Medicaid, SNAP, or TANF is automatically income-eligible for WIC (adjunctive eligibility, 7 CFR 246.7).

Beyond the income test, every applicant must be screened by a WIC clinician for at least one nutritional risk factor — anemia, underweight, history of preterm birth, dietary inadequacy, or any of the 50+ conditions listed in USDA's WIC Nutrition Risk Criteria. The screening is free and takes one clinic visit.

What it covers

WIC issues a monthly food package loaded onto an eWIC card (every state has fully transitioned off paper vouchers as of October 2020 under PL 111-296). Food packages are tightly prescribed by USDA and include:

Iron-fortified infant formula (or breastfeeding support if exclusive breastfeeding)
Infant cereal and baby food fruits, vegetables, and meats
Whole-grain bread, brown rice, soft corn or whole-wheat tortillas
Milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs
Cereals on each state's WIC-approved list
100% fruit juice (capped at 64 oz / month for women, 128 oz / month for children)
Fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and vegetables — the Cash-Value Benefit, raised to $26 / month for children, $47 / month for pregnant + postpartum women, $52 / month for breastfeeding women in FY 2024 and made permanent through the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2025.
Peanut butter or beans / lentils
Canned fish (for fully-breastfeeding women only)

WIC also covers breastfeeding peer counseling, lactation consultations, nutrition education, and referrals to immunizations and primary care.

Who qualifies

You qualify for WIC if you are:

Pregnant — through pregnancy and up to six weeks after delivery
Postpartum — up to six months after delivery if not breastfeeding
Breastfeeding — up to one year after delivery if breastfeeding
An infant — up to age one
A child — ages one through four

And one of:

Household income at or below 185% of the federal poverty guideline ($59,478 for a household of three in FY 2025), or
Currently receiving Medicaid, SNAP, or TANF (adjunctive eligibility), and
Found to be at nutritional risk by a clinician.

Citizenship and immigration status: WIC has no citizenship test. The 1996 PRWORA welfare reform law specifically exempts WIC from immigrant restrictions, and federal law prohibits state WIC agencies from sharing applicant data with immigration enforcement. USDA reaffirmed this in February 2025.

How to apply

WIC enrollment runs through state-administered local agencies — usually county health departments, Federally Qualified Health Centers, hospital perinatal clinics, or tribal health centers. The federal application channel matrix:

Online prescreen: WIC.fns.usda.gov links to every state's prescreen tool. Most states moved to fully online applications between 2022 and 2024 under USDA's eWIC modernization grant.
Phone: Every state operates a WIC info line; call to schedule the one-time in-clinic certification.
In person: The certification visit (measurements, hemoglobin draw, nutrition counseling) is required and lasts about 30 to 45 minutes. Subsequent recertifications can be remote in 19 states under the WIC Modernization Act.

Documents required: photo ID for the applicant, proof of address, proof of household income for the last 30 days (pay stubs, tax return, or benefit letter), proof of identity for everyone applying for benefits.