Having spoken with the Ohio Department of Health, WIC Program, I have been assured by the WIC Vendor Operations Manager that no contract will be in jeopardy due to a lack of stock on your shelves at this time. WIC is very aware of the challenges we are facing and have expressed their appreciation to all sectors (from the dairy producers to the processors to our retailers) of the job you are doing during this time of crisis. If you are hearing different from your contacts, please know this was a miscommunication among WIC staff and steps have been taken to correct it.
However, that being said, it was also made clear that you cannot make any substitutions for benefits that are on the WIC Nutrition Card. Some WIC participants do have whole or 2 % milk on their card based on their nutritional needs and they are able to purchase those, but most have 1 % milk loaded on their card. The WIC program does not have federal approval to change what type of milk that the participant receives, so whatever the participant has loaded on the card is the only product that they should receive. Also, the WIC program cannot make changes to the participant’s card without making the participant come into the office and the program is trying to minimize the visits to the clinic during this time.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to OGA President,
Kristin Mullins
.
