WIC program experience growth in Columbus and Ohio

Enrollment in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program has reached an all time high in Ohio (Source: "Women, Infants, and Children: Ohio can't get enough of this nutrition program," The Columbus Dispatch, April  20, 2008). Today 58 percent of infants receive nutrition assistance through this program.  Statewide WIC provides assistance to around 290,000 infants, pregnant or post-partum women, and children up to age five a month.  In Franklin County enrollment has increased 59 percent over the past years, while increasing 11 percent statewide.  The main reason cited for the rise in enrollment in Franklin County is the increase in the areas Somali and Hispanic populations. (The article includes a map that shows changes in WIC enrollment by Ohio county between 1997 and 2007.) 

The WIC program seeks to "improve health by educating recipients about nutrition, promoting breast-feeding and providing foods high in protein or iron."