Whatever it Takes For Healthier Moms, Babies, and Families
WIC provides access to healthy food, breastfeeding support, and encouragement for moms-to-be, new moms, and families with young children to promote healthy families by encouraging healthy eating and nutrition habits. These habits can include:
- Breastfeeding your baby
- Eating a well-balanced diet with more fiber, whole grains, fruits and vegetables
- Eating less unhealthy fats
- Drinking less juice and sweetened beverages
- Making family meals matter
About WIC
To help participants to adopt and practice healthy eating and nutrition habits, WIC provides:
Access to Basic Nutritious Foods
WIC provides basic nutritious foods to eligible pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, as well as infants and children. These foods are rich in protein, iron, calcium, fiber, and vitamins.
Participants are issued an NC eWIC card at their initial visit to access food benefits at authorized retail grocery stores and pharmacies.
- Basic Nutritious Foods for Infants (Birth – 12 Months) (Spanish)
- Basic Nutritious Foods for Women and Children (Spanish)
- Additional Foods for Women Who Exclusively Breastfeed (Spanish)
Nutrition Education
Nutrition education is a major benefit of the WIC Program and is provided to all adults and, whenever possible, to children directly. The goals of nutrition education are:
- To teach about the relationship between nutrition, physical activity, and good health.
- To improve eating and physical activity habits as they relate to the participant’s nutritional risk.
- To promote optimal use of the WIC Program’s supplemental foods and other nutritious foods.
- To provide nutrition education that is appropriate to an individual’s age, educational background, household situation, language, cultural and ethnic preferences, and nutritional needs.
Health Care Referrals
WIC works closely with doctors and other care professionals in the healthcare system. This relationship allows the program to receive and provide recommendations to families as well as refer them to healthcare providers and other health and social services. Referrals from WIC include immunizations and substance abuse counseling and treatment. WIC encourages persons already receiving medical services to remain under their physicians' care. It also encourages individuals not receiving medical care to seek and maintain appropriate care.
Breastfeeding Promotion and Support
Breastfeeding promotion and support are integral parts of the WIC Program. WIC wants to help more moms start breastfeeding, do it for a longer time, and breastfeed exclusively if that’s what they choose. WIC also instructs mothers on the basics of breastfeeding and many WIC agencies have breastfeeding peer counselor support programs for mother-to-mother counseling. In addition, all local WIC agencies provide breastfeeding aids such as manual and electric breast pumps. WIC offers a food package for women who exclusively breastfeed their babies.
WIC is available to pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants, and children up to age five. Foster families with qualifying individuals may be eligible to receive WIC benefits. To participate, you need to:
Live in North Carolina.
Be at nutritional risk. A nutritionist or other health professional makes the nutritional risk assessment at no cost to the participant.
Have a family income less than 185% of the U.S. Poverty Income Guidelines.
Income Eligibility Chart (Effective June 3, 2024)
Maximum Gross Income | |||||
Size of Economic Unit** | Annual | Monthly | Twice | Bi-Weekly | Weekly |
1 | 27,861 | 2,322 | 1,161 | 1,072 | 536 |
2 | 37,814 | 3,152 | 1,576 | 1,455 | 728 |
3 | 47,767 | 3,981 | 1,991 | 1,838 | 919 |
4 | 57,720 | 4,810 | 2,405 | 2,220 | 1,110 |
5 | 67,673 | 5,640 | 2,820 | 2,603 | 1,302 |
6 | 77,626 | 6,469 | 3,235 | 2,986 | 1,493 |
7 | 87,579 | 7,299 | 3,650 | 3,369 | 1,685 |
8 | 97,532 | 8,128 | 4,064 | 3,752 | 1,876 |
9 | 107,485 | 8,958 | 4,479 | 4,135 | 2,068 |
10 | 117,438 | 9,787 | 4,894 | 4,517 | 2,259 |
11 | 127,391 | 10,616 | 5,308 | 4,900 | 2,450 |
12 | 137,344 | 11,446 | 5,723 | 5,283 | 2,642 |
13 | 147,297 | 12,275 | 6,138 | 5,666 | 2,833 |
14 | 157,250 | 13,105 | 6,553 | 6,049 | 3,025 |
15 | 167,203 | 13,934 | 6,967 | 6,431 | 3,216 |
16 | 177,156 | 14,763 | 7,382 | 6,814 | 3,407 |
For each additional | $9,953 | $830 | $415 | $383 | $192 |
If you are already receiving Medicaid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or assistance from the NC Food and Nutrition Services you automatically meet the income eligibility requirement.
WIC is not included in the public charge test. Read more: Fact Sheet on WIC and Public Charge. Ficha Informativa Sobre El Wic y La Carga Pública.
To find your local WIC office and apply for the program, contact the local WIC agency that serves the residents of the county in which you live. You can:
Call or text: 1-844-601-6881 Text: wic12345 (wic + your zip code)
Fill out the WIC Referral Form.
What will I need to bring to my first appointment?
You may also be interested in services and resources provided by these partners:
- Food and Nutrition Services in North Carolina (SNAP - FNS) A program that helps eligible people with limited incomes supplement their budgets so they can purchase food.
- NC Medicaid Health coverage to eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, seniors and people with disabilities. Learn about eligibility and how to apply.
- NCCARE360 Resources Get connected to additional services and assistance through the first statewide network that unites health care and human services organizations.
- Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) A broadband discount program that helps to connect families struggling to afford internet service. WIC participants are automatically eligible for the ACP.
- Information for Non-Citizen Communities and FNS Programs If you are a non-citizen, you and your family members may be eligible to participate in several programs operated by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).