About this article
The WIC office in Chicago IL provides nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and healthcare referrals as well as nutritious supplemental foods at no cost to eligible pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and children up to age 5. The program improves health outcomes by reducing low birth weight, improving child growth and development, increasing vaccination rates, decreasing iron deficiency anemia, and connecting families to health care.
To qualify for WIC, a person must be a resident of Illinois and meet both the residential and income requirements. The residence requirement is proven by presenting identification such as a driver’s license or a state ID card and proof of address (utility bill, rent receipt, letter from employer, etc). To be financially eligible, the household income must be below the amounts listed in the income guidelines table. Pregnant women count as two members of the household when determining income.
In addition to the nutrition services provided at clinics, the DuPage County WIC program operates a network of 16 WIC Grocery stores throughout the county where participants can shop for name-brand, nutritious, and 100% WIC-approved food items. The goal of the WIC Grocery stores is to bring healthy and affordable groceries into underserved neighborhoods. WIC Grocery Centers also serve as unique community hubs for participants, integrating them into a variety of other programs and resources including employment and job training, social services, childcare, and family-based support groups.