WASHINGTON,
Feb. 10, 2016 – USDA will temporarily allow Michigan to use its WIC funds to
test about 3,800 WIC participants who may have been exposed to lead during the
ongoing drinking water crisis in Flint.
The Special
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) provides funding
to states for food and healthcare assistance, specifically for low-income women
who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or recently gave birth, and to infants and
children under six years old.
Kathryn
Wilson, USDA’s Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer
Services, made the announcement while visiting a WIC clinic and an elementary
school in Michigan.
“Our
goal is simple: to encourage folks to maximize the healthy foods they have
available in order to mitigate the effects of lead,” Wilson said in a release.
“We’re working in partnership with other federal agencies to make every
possible resource available to help. We encourage people affected by this
crisis to visit the local
health department to find out what nutrition programs they may be eligible for
that could help.”
The
department will also extend community
eligibility status to at least 28 Flint schools, which means the 144,000
students in those schools who are receiving means-tested public assistance can
easily be enrolled in the federal free and reduced-priced school meal program.
Through
community eligibility status, those students could also receive nutritional
benefits during the summer months via the Summer
Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) for Children program, which gives families
with children that are eligible for free or reduced-priced school meals an EBT
debit card they can use to purchase food.
According to
USDA, Michigan must submit an initial application by
Friday for Flint to participate in the summer feeding program.
The
ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Sen. Debbie Stabenow of
Michigan, thanked President Barack Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack
for helping the people of Flint, as she requested.
“USDA
is stepping up to help ensure children and families in Flint have access to
critical health resources and nutritious foods during this crisis,” Stabenow
said in a release. “I will continue to do everything in my power to help Flint
during this emergency.”
USDA’s
Food and Nutrition Service has been working with state agencies in Michigan to
address the lead crisis since September 2015, USDA says.
For
example:
- At the end of January, FNS approved Michigan’s request for $62,700 in additional funding to expand the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program to more eligible schools, providing additional fresh fruits and vegetables at no cost to students. The aid will help schools identify and incorporate more foods high in vitamin C, calcium, and iron that can reduce lead levels in the body.
- FNS gave mothers of formula-fed infants participating in WIC the option to receive ready-to-feed formula instead of the standard powdered formula. In addition, the 7,585 Flint residents participating in the WIC program (including 1,527 women, 1,792 infants, and 4,266 children) are being offered water filters and supportive services.
- FNS is currently working with the state to provide targeted USDA food items that could help mitigate the effects of lead absorption.
- Through its Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), SNAP nutrition education, and its support for food banks, FNS is leveraging partnerships with community-based organizations and farmers markets to increase nutrition education efforts on how healthy food may help mitigate lead absorption.
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