Missouri says WIC program will continue in November despite shutdown
Alison Patton
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Special benefits for low-income mothers are safe for now, despite the ongoing federal shutdown, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services announced Wednesday.
Benefits under the Special Supplement Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children program, known commonly as WIC, will be dispersed for November, but might not last the whole month without changes, the agency says.
WIC, like SNAP, is federally funded through congressional appropriations. That money is then sent to the states to administer the program. DHSS said Wednesday that it found savings in its October benefit payments that can keep the program going into November.
In its news release, the department didn’t specify how much money it saved or exactly how long funding will last.
A DHSS spokesperson said the funding is leftover from WIC users not using their full benefits. Some WIC items were cut in October, like name-brand cereal and block cheese, and some people spent a little less.
DHSS said it will let people know if the benefits run out in the second half of November.
Funding could run dry after next month if Congress doesn’t fund the government and appropriate money to federal food programs, like WIC and SNAP.
WIC is a program to help low-income young mothers and their children with food and other benefits.
Other states have taken steps similar to Missouri’s to keep WIC funded, including Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Oregon and Wyoming, according to The Hill.
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe announced Wednesday over $15 million in additional funds to support emergency food assistance programs, like food banks and senior food programs, to counteract dry SNAP funding.
First Chance for Children Executive Director Gay Litteken said there’s been an increase in need from Columbia families for baby items like diapers and wipes, along with the WIC-eligible baby formula.
She said families on SNAP are scrambling to find other resources.
“They’re going to be spending money on nutritional items for their children, we want to be able to provide diapers and wipes for them,” Litteken said.
Wednesday marks day 29 of the government shutdown, and is nearly a week shy of surpassing the last government shutdown.