DECATUR, Ga. – Trips through checkout lines at the grocery store are about to become easier and less time consuming for participants in the Georgia Department of Public Health’s WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Program.
Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 11, participants served by the DeKalb County Board of Health’s WIC locations will begin receiving an eWIC card to purchase approved foods.
The eWIC card functions similarly to a debit card, by swiping at the checkout, and entering a PIN. Previously, WIC participants have been issued paper vouchers to purchase approved foods at the time of checkout. As the eWIC card distribution will occur in phases, WIC participants will continue to use paper vouchers until they receive an eWIC card at their next appointment.
“This is an excellent and long-awaited technological evolution for the WIC Program,” said DeKalb County Board of Health WIC Program Manager Courtney Underwood. “The implementation of eWIC allows our participants to obtain the nourishing foods for themselves and their children, without being stigmatized at the checkout counter for holding up the line. To anyone else, it will look like a normal transaction at the PIN pad.”
In addition to DeKalb, other health districts in Georgia slated to begin eWIC benefit issuance on Oct. 11 include GNR Health (Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale), North (Gainesville) and Northeast (Athens).
Georgia WIC is a special supplemental nutrition program that provides nutrition education, breastfeeding education and support, referrals, and nutritional supplements to thousands of income eligible families throughout Georgia.
Income-eligible families include pregnant women, breastfeeding women, postpartum women, infants, and children up to age five. Custodial/single fathers, legal guardians, and foster parents of an infant or child can also receive WIC benefits for the eligible infant or child. For more information about the WIC Program at the DeKalb County Board of Health, including eligibility requirements, visit dekalbpublichealth.com/dekalbwic or call 404-508-7777.