WIC's Mission
To safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care.
Food Security Survey Results
Roughly every 3 years the Iowa WIC program distributes a Food Security Survey to at least 5% of it's participants. The questions contained within the survey are used to measure the level of food security of our participants. Results of the Food Security Surveys can be found below.
Outreach & Media
How WIC Impacts the People of Iowa
Program Documents
Below you will find the program goals and objectives for the next fiscal year. The State WIC Office welcomes public input on the proposed activities. If you would like to provide comments please review the draft document and submit your feedback via the Contact Us form located at the bottom of this page.
2022 WIC State Goals and Objectives
Program Links
USDA Supplemental NutritionProgram for Women, Infants, and Children
USDA WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program
Other resources
Food Research and Action Center
Hunger and Environmental Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group
USDA Economic Research Service
2018 United Way Iowa ALICE Report
Iowa WIC Program Request for Clinic Approval
Before implementing a long-term program change, such as a change in clinic site, elimination of a clinic site or hours of operation, the agency must submit a completed Iowa WIC Program Request for Clinic Approval to the State WIC Program. Local agencies must obtain written approval prior to making any changes. See Policy 300.45 for more information about this.
WIC Nutrition Education Needs Assessment Technical Assistance Tool
The purpose of the WIC Nutrition Education Needs Assessment Technical Assistance Tool is to assist with the analyses of several data sets describing the health status and nutrition education needs of WIC participants. This series of worksheets will help compare data from several sources in order to draw conclusions about a particular health indicator or behavior. The tool assists with assessment, planning and evaluating nutrition and health indicators of WIC populations. For more information contact (515) 725 - 2642.
How To Access WIC Videos on the IDPH YouTube Channel
Videos produced by state staff for WIC participant training and education will be made available on the Department's YouTube channel. The attached instructions are for local agency staff use only and not to be provided to participants. Use the instructions provided to locate the video desired, and use the YouTube options for sharing the video with participants.
Social Media Integrity Messaging Toolkit
The following recourses are designed to be used on social media platforms and for print media to assist with integrity messaging. The use of these tools is highly recommended but not required. For any questions over the use of these items, please reach out the state WIC integrity officer.
- Print Media Messages
- Print Media Messages File 1- Updated 8.25.2021
- Print Media Messages File 2- Updated 8.25.2021
- Print Media Messages File 3- Updated 8.25.2021
- Print Media Messages File 4- Updated 8.25.2021
- Print Media Messages File 5- Updated 8.25.2021
- Print Media Messages File 6- Updated 8.25.2021
- Social Media Language - Updated 8.25.2021
- Social Media Messaging Images
- Facebook - Updated 8.25.2021
- Instagram
- Instragram Image File 1 - Updated 8.25.2021
- Instragram Image File 2 - Updated 8.25.2021
- Google Banner Ads - Updated 8.25.2021
Outreach Tools
The goals for outreach activities are to: increase caseload, increase awareness of the WIC Program among potentially eligible families, and coordinate WIC services with other programs serving potentially eligible families to improve quality of services, eliminate undesirable duplication of services, and increase access to services. The following tools have been put together for local agency use following the analysis of information gathered via surveys with the specific target population. The use of these tools is highly recommended but not required.
- Facebook Outreach Plan Tool
- Head Start/Early Head Start Outreach Plan Tool
- Nutrition, Support, and the Power of Family
- Nutrition, Support, and the Power of Family (Spanish Version)
To tell parents and caregivers about the many benefits of WIC, the Iowa Department of Public Health has created a multi-faceted advertising campaign. It features early childhood milestones meant to tug at the heartstrings and reinforce the importance of giving kids a healthy start. By implementing this campaign throughout your community,
you can let caregivers know that WIC is here for them and their families.
From video to billboards, this multi-pronged advertising approach includes a variety of advertising materials at your disposal. You are welcome to use any of these advertising materials in your community. To request the electronic files for any of these materials simply contact your nutrition consultant.
- Billboards
- Facebook Post Suggestions (images also sized for Twitter, contact your nutrition consultant if you are in need of these)
- Healthy Habits Allstars Book
- Instagram Video
- Magnets
- Movie Theater
- Posters
- Toolkit Booklet
- TV Spot
Wichealth.org Support
The wichealth.org support site is available to visit to get everything you need related to wichealth- evaluation reports, marketing and training materials and videos, wichealth news, and now there is a Stats merger where you can track state and local agency statistics.
Head Start Adjunctive Income Eligibility Form
The state WIC office has authorized the use of the following forms to be used in conjunction with head start for determining adjunctive income eligibility. Additional information on the use of these forms can be found in policy 215.42
Drop Shipment Order Form
Complete the following form for your quarterly drop shipment order (order forms are due in March, June, September, and December) or your ISU Distribution Center order form.
Request the Iowa WIC Program to Add a UPC
To request a specific product to be added to the Iowa WIC Approved Product List (APL), complete the Iowa WIC UPC Submission Form. Please follow submission instructions located on the bottom of the form. Your request will be reviewed and if the product meets the nutritional requirements of the WIC Program, it will be added to the Iowa APL.
Food Flyer Insert
WIC Approved Food Flyers list the items which are eligible for participants to purchase. New food items are now added to the Approved Product List every quarter. Food Flyers cannot be updated quite as frequently, so an insert has been developed which lists all updates since the last printing. It is not a requirement to provide this insert to all participants. It is simply a resource for those who are unable to access electronic versions of the WIC approved food list from the WIC Shopper App or the EBT Shopper and IDPH websites.
PNSS and PedNSS
The Iowa WIC program has several comprehensive reports available which assess health and behavioral characteristics of women, infants, and children enrolled in the WIC Program. The Pregnancy Nutrition Surveillance System (PNSS) and the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System (PedNSS) were originally administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to monitor the nutritional status of low-income participants in federally funded maternal and child health programs. In Iowa, data for PNSS and PedNSS is only collected from WIC. WIC uses this information to guide public health policy and action. If you would like additional information, pleasecontact IDPH for a data sharing agreement.
- 2021 Iowa PedNSS (ZIP File)
- 2021 Iowa PNSS (ZIP File)
- 2020 Iowa PedNSS
- 2020 Iowa PNSS
- 2019 Iowa PedNSS
- 2019 Iowa PNSS
- 2018 Iowa PedNSS
- 2018 Iowa PNSS
IowaGrants.gov User Guides
The Iowa Department of Public Health has multiple user guides to assist with usage of the IowaGrants.gov website. If you need any assistance with Iowagrant.gov please use the resources located on the IDPH User Guides website.