The Joplin City WIC Office has announced that funding has been approved to continue to provide WIC services for federal fiscal year 2013 (October 1, 2012 through September 30, 2013) with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Under the terms of the contract, Joplin City WIC will be able to serve 3,463 eligible participants.
Each month, more than 145,000 women, infants and children in Missouri participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children – commonly known as WIC. The program provides food and nutrition information at no cost to qualifying low to moderate income women and their children.
Joplin City WIC is located at 321 E 4th Street and operates a satellite clinic out of the Jasper County Health Department in Carthage, staffed with employees from the Joplin site. The satellite clinic is open typically the first 3 Thursdays and Fridays of the month. Please call the Joplin site for available dates and to make appointments.
The Joplin City WIC office has been awarded the distinction of being a Breastfeeding Friendly WIC Clinic for a second year. In Missouri, 43.2 percent of mothers who gave birth in 2009 received WIC services. In Joplin, the amount is higher at 50.1 percent of mothers. More than half of all infants born in Missouri receive WIC services during their first year of life.
WIC is a federally funded program, WIC services in Missouri are provided by 118 local agencies, operated in 250 clinics including county and city health departments. Services include nutrition and breastfeeding education, breastfeeding promotion and support, nutritious foods, and improved healthcare for low and moderate-income women and children with, or at risk of developing, nutrition-related health problems.
To qualify for the WIC program, participants must:
• Provide proof of identity and proof of residence in Missouri.
• Meet certain income requirements.
• Visit a local WIC clinic (Joplin City WIC) to set up appt. to have their nutritional/ health status assessed by a health professional.
For more information, contact Joplin City Health Department/WIC 321 E. 4th St upper level, Joplin, MO 64801 417-623-1928 or visit our web site at http://www.joplinmo.org/index.aspx?nid=326, or visit the Missouri Health Department’s WIC web site at http://www.dhss.mo.gov/wic for locations.
WIC is an equal opportunity program and services are provided on a non-discriminatory basis.