Will Help Accommodate Increase in Families Seeking Assistance

Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced that Connecticut will receive more than $1.3 million in federal stimulus funds for the state Women, Infants, and Children Supplemental Nutrition Program in response to the surge of families seeking assistance during this economic recession.

            “This program is essential for those families with young children to ensure they have access to nutritious food. In these economic times, it is even more critical,” Governor Rell said. “The WIC program, like many safety nets over the past several months, is experiencing an increase in clients and these funds will help us accommodate their needs.”

According to the state Department of Public Health, which administers the WIC program, approximately 65,990 clients are being served this year, an increase of 6,000 from last year. Eligible families are able to redeem WIC vouchers at grocery stores, farmers’ markets and other qualified food outlets.

Connecticut’s WIC Program serves low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care. Working families and young foster children can also qualify.

Federal guidelines established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) require that WIC stimulus funds be used to purchase food for WIC clients or to establish, improve or administer management information systems for WIC.

For more information on the ARRA in Connecticut, visit the state’s official stimulus Web site at www.ct.gov and go to the CT Recovery link. For more information on the WIC program, please visit www.ct.gov/dph/wic