WIC or Women, Infants and Children, is a federally-funded program to make it easier for low-income mothers, pregnant women and their children to get the healthy foods they need.
And as Summit County WIC Program Director Jennifer Bateman explains, it does much more.
“We're able to offer these moms a lot of education in setting healthful behavior habits for their kids,” she said. “Lots of breastfeeding support as well.”
Bateman and other program staff members are registered dieticians.
And now, their services are coming to Summit County’s new WIC branch in Kamas, adding to its locations already in Park City and Coalville.
Bateman anticipates the need will grow alongside the valley’s population.
“Everybody should come,” she said. “So of course, all of our WIC participants are invited, and we want them to come out. It is really a huge resource fair highlighting our program.”
Other medical providers from around the area will attend, like Wasatch Pediatrics, Burg Dentistry, EyeCare for Kids and each department in the wider Summit County Health Department. Kamas Mayor Matt McCormick will make an appearance too.
The grand opening comes after a close call at the federal level. The U.S. government came within hours of a shutdown Sept. 30.
Although many programs were not slated to lose funding if the shutdown occurred, WIC was on the chopping block. At the time, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox pledged to continue funding it.
Thanks to a last-minute funding bill, the federal government can pay for programs like WIC for another 45 days until Nov. 17. That’s when lawmakers will revisit the government’s 12 annual appropriation bills, which if not passed, will trigger a shutdown.
In the meantime, it’s full steam ahead for WIC in Summit County. The grand opening is Oct. 13 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Summit County Services Building on Kamas’ Main Street.
