Oregon WIC is for Women, Infants, and Children who are at nutrition risk. The program is Special Supplemental Nutrition program for qualified residents of Oregon. The main purpose of Oregon WIC is to provide nutrition food, education, and referrals to health services for women, infants, and children. The program influences health outcome in targeted residence of Oregon so that they have a healthy lifestyle and behavior.

Pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women along with infants and children are provided necessary supply of nutrition food along with education. Food will help such residents avoid nutrition risk while education will help them understand nutrition lifestyle. Residents receiving nutrition education through Oregon WIC are able to change their lifestyle and habits to a healthier one.

Women, infants, and children looking to be enrolled in Oregon WIC have to be on low-income and face a nutrition risk. The nutrition risk can be either medical or diet risk. A qualified health professional such as a physician or a nutritionist will have to determine the health risk for the purpose of Oregon WIC.

Recipients of Oregon WIC will be able to buy nutrition food. However, they are only permitted to buy food that is on Oregon Food List. The items chosen to be on Oregon Food List have high nutrition value, low cost, and are available throughout the state. The food list includes iron fortified cereals for adults, iron fortified formula for infants, fruit juices rich with vitamin C, cereals for infants, bread, poultry, eggs, peanut butter, fruits, vegetables and many other foods that are high in nutrition value. You can check the complete Food List here: www.public.health.oregon.gov/HealthyPeopleFamilies/wic/Pages/foods.

Oregon WIC works with WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program to help WIC participants receive fresh and nutritious food. The Farmers' market program provides additional coupons to WIC participants so that they can purchase fresh vegetables and fruits from farmers' markets.

Apart from providing nutrition food, Oregon WIC also provides number of special services for breastfeeding mothers. They are provided information through counseling and educational programs. Peer counselors provide follow up support and breastfeeding mothers have longer period for enjoying Oregon WIC benefits. Breastfeeding mothers can also receive equipment that can help feed their baby. It may include breast pumps, breast shells and other equipment that may be required.

It's easy to apply for WIC in Oregon. All you have to do is to call your local WIC clinic and schedule an appointment. Once you schedule an appointment, you be judged for program eligibility at the interview. Don't forget to take all the necessary documents including your ID, proof of income, social security number and other documents that WIC clinic asks you to bring at the interview.

Eligibility Requirements

In order to participate in Oregon WIC, applicants have to:

• Be a U.S citizen or a qualified alien
• Be a resident of Oregon
• Meet income guidelines for the program
• Have a nutrition risk, whether medical or health risk

Oregon WIC is only available to certain categories of Oregon residents:

• Pregnant women
• Breastfeeding women
• Postpartum women
• Infants under the age of 1 year
• Children under the age of 5 years

Income Guidelines

Applicants for Oregon WIC will also have to meet income guidelines set for the program in order to receive benefits. The program requires applicants to have household income below 185% of the federal poverty line (FPL). Below is a table of gross annual household income according to the number of people living in the household to help you find out whether you meet income eligibility criteria or not.

Household Size	Annual Income Limit
1	$20,665
2	$27,991
3	$35,317
4	$42,643
5	$49,969
6	$57,295
7	$64,621
8	$71,947

For households with more people, please add $7,326 in gross annual income for each additional person.

For the purpose of Oregon WIC, a household means a unit of people living together, buying food together, and preparing their meals together. They don't have to be relatives to count as one household. Baby in the womb is considered a person for household size, which means a pregnant woman will be counted as two persons in the household in order to determine income limits and amount of benefits for the program.

You can further asses you eligibility for the Oregon WIC program using the online pre-screening tool available on the following link: www.wic.fns.usda.gov/wps/pages/start.jsf.

WIC Application Instructions

To apply for WIC in Oregon, you will have to contact your local WIC Clinic. To find a WIC clinic in your county, use this link: www.public.health.oregon.gov/HealthyPeopleFamilies/wic/.

You will find phone number and fax for your nearest county office along with directions for the clinic. You must call the clinic to schedule an appointment.

Once you have scheduled an appointment, you will be told what documents to bring to the interview. Your eligibility for the program will be determined then, and if you are declared eligible, you will start receiving benefits.

You can also call 1-800-SAFENET from anywhere in the Oregon except Portland area. Those living in Portland area, please call 503-988-5858 to get more information about your local WIC office or clinic. You call also make a TTY relay call by dialing 711.