The Maryland WIC program is a special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children in the state of Maryland. This program provides supplemental foods, nutrition education, healthcare referrals, and breastfeeding support to low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants and children up to the age of five.

The benefits of the Maryland WIC program include:

• Free supplemental foods
• Free nutrition education
• Free healthcare referrals to social services such as Medicaid
• Breast feeding support
• Free health screening
• Immunization services

Since inception the Maryland WIC program has helped to improve the log-term health, growth and development of children in the state of Maryland. This has been achieved through a network of clinics across the state of Maryland that serves over 148,000 women, infants and children every month.

The Maryland WIC program ensures that:

• Women participating in the program have access to nutritious diets and that they have healthier babies
• Infants are healthy and that they grow and develop better
• Children are provided with nutritious diets that enable them to develop strong minds and bodies

In order to qualify for the Maryland WIC program you need to meet a set of eligibility requirements. These eligibility requirements are mainly categorical, income, and residential in nature. If you meet the basic program eligibility requirements, you should go ahead and apply for participation in the program.

Applying for the Maryland WIC program is a fairly easy process that can be done in two steps. First you need to contact your local Maryland WIC clinic and schedule an appointment for an interview. The next step is to show up for the interview at the local Maryland WIC clinic. Upon successful completion of the process you will start participating in the Maryland WIC program.

You can determine your eligibility to the Maryland WIC program, by using the pre-screening tool available on this link: www.fns.usda.gov/wic/howtoapply/whogetswicandhowtoapply.htm(Maryland WIC pre-screening tool).

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants to the Maryland WIC program need to meet a specified set of eligibility requirements. These program eligibility requirements are broadly divided into: categorical eligibility requirements, income eligibility requirements, residential eligibility requirements, proof of nutritional risk and are discussed below:

Maryland WIC -Categorical Eligibility Requirements

Applicants to the Maryland WIC program need to belong to one of the three categories of women, infants, and children. Additionally they also need to meet the individual categorical eligibility requirements outlined below:

Women

Women applying for the Maryland WIC program need to be:

• Undergoing pregnancy or within 6 weeks after the delivery of a infant
• Breast feeding, up to one year after delivery of an infant
• Postpartum

Infants

Infants should be under one year of age.

Children

Children should be under six years of age.

Maryland WIC-Income Eligibility Requirements

In order to qualify for the Maryland WIC program, you need to meet a set of income eligibility requirements. These requirements are based on the household size and corresponding household income and are highlighted on the following link: www.fha.dhmh.maryland.gov/wic/SitePages/wic-eligible (Maryland WIC Income eligibility guidelines). Applicants already receiving foster care, medical assistance, Temporary Cash assistance and other supplemental food programs are automatically income eligible.

Maryland WIC - Residential Eligibility Requirements

Applicants to the Maryland WIC programs must be residents of the state of Maryland. They should also be US citizens or legal aliens.

Maryland WIC -Proof of Nutritional Risk

Applicants to the Maryland WIC program should undertake a medical examination by a healthcare professional, and proof that they are nutritionally at risk. This service is provided free of charge at your local Maryland WIC clinic.

WIC Application Instructions

Applying for the Maryland WIC program is a fairly easy process that can be done in two steps. First you need to contact your local Maryland WIC office and book an appointment for an interview. A list of local Maryland WIC county offices and their phone numbers is available on the following link: www.fha.dhmh.maryland.gov/wic/SitePages/wic-apply (Maryland WIC local county offices).

On the day of the interview, you should remember to carry important documents such as proof of income, proof of identity and proof of residence that are highlighted on this link: http://fha.dhmh.maryland.gov/wic/SitePages/wic-apply.aspx (Maryland WIC important documents checklist).

During the interview, you will be given a medical examination to establish whether you are at nutritional risk. A program representative will then verify your documents and ask you questions aimed at establishing your eligibility to the program.

Upon successful completion of the interview process you will officially start being a participant of the Maryland WIC program, and thus be eligible for the program benefits.

For more information about the Maryland WIC clinic, you can talk to a program representative by calling the following hotline number: 1-800-242-4WIC.