ADPH Announces Qualifications for SNAP Benefits
According to the Alabama Department of Public Health – Alabama families may qualify for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants & Children, which is better known as WIC, if you’re a woman who is pregnant, has had a baby within the previous six months, who is breastfeeding, or who is the parent or guardian of a child up to age five.
Simply apply at the county health department or WIC agency. Participants in the program receive FREE nutrition education and breastfeeding peer counseling support. In addition, all participants have the option to receive up to three months of food benefits at a time, for each qualified family member.
Alabama’s WIC program now provides electronic food benefits statewide, with an option to apply remotely during COVID-19.
Under the 2020 federal poverty guidelines, more families may be eligible for the program.
WIC is open to participants with incomes up to 185% of the federal poverty level.
Check the table below to see whether your family qualifies:
Family Size / Annual Income / Weekly Income
2 / $31,894 $614
3 / $40,182 $773
4 / $48,470 $933
5 / $56,758 $1,092
6 / $65,046 $1,251
*Each unborn infant counts as one in the family size.
WIC participants must have both a limited income and a nutritional need. Families who receive Medicaid, SNAP, or TANF already meet the income qualifications for WIC. Even families who do not qualify for these programs may be eligible for WIC because of its higher income limits.
Allison Hatchett, WIC Director at the Alabama Department of Public Health, stated, “WIC encourages families to be healthy by providing nutritious foods that support growth and development. Nutritious foods help children grow to be healthy adults and pregnant women to have healthy babies.”
For more information please visit http://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/wic or call the statewide toll-free line at 1-888-942-4673.
(SOUTHERN TORCH/www.southerntorch.com)