How to Use WIC

WIC services include nutrition education, breastfeeding promotion and support, eWIC cards to buy nutritious foods, immunization screening and referrals, and health and social services referrals.

WIC nurses, dietitians, and nutrition educators meet with you to assess your diet and health history, provide nutrition counseling, and determine what foods are right for you and where you should shop.

• Infants - Breastfeeding is very important for growing babies. If a mom is not able to breastfeed, then iron-fortified formula is provided for the baby. When your baby is old enough, baby foods and plain cereal will be available.
• Children 1-5 years old – These children can receive foods such as milk, cheese, yogurt, cereal, eggs, peanut butter or dried/canned beans, fish, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables.
• Pregnant, Breastfeeding, and Postpartum women - To support moms during pregnancy, postpartum, and breastfeeding, women can receive foods such as milk, cheese, yogurt, juice, cereal, eggs, peanut butter or dried/canned beans, fish, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables.

WIC promotes and supports breastfeeding.

The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) decides the WIC food packages. Food packages align with current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations and provide WIC participants with a wide variety of nutritious foods to support healthy dietary patterns and accommodate special dietary needs and personal and cultural food preferences.

Congress established this program to support local farmers and provide more fresh, unprepared, locally grown fruits and vegetables during the summer months to eligible WIC participants. Contact your local WIC agency for more information and to see if you are eligible.

Iowa Department of Agriculture WIC Farmers Market Nutrition Program

The programs are administered by different state agencies with different guidelines determining what produce is eligible. To simplify the shopping experience, the three agencies administering the programs have worked together to create the “Produce Quick Reference Guide." The guide is specific to fresh produce. 

The eWIC cards can not be used at Farmers' Markets. Only the Farmer's Market Nutrition Program checks can be used at the Farmer's Market. 

If you have questions related to other program guidelines, refer to the agency identified on the chart as “Administered by."

2025 Quick Reference Produce Reference Guide (PDF)

• MyPlate Kitchen
• Healthy, Thrifty Holiday Menus
• SNAP-Ed Recipes
• Spend Smart. Eat Smart.
• wichealth.org - Health eKitchen

The Iowa WIC Program wants to know about any issues you have using your eWIC card. Email the WIC Office if you have had a problem with your eWIC Card or want to make a complaint.

A WIC vendor is a grocery store or pharmacy that is approved by the state WIC office to accept eWIC cards. All WIC-approved vendors are listed in the "WIC Approved Vendors" document below:

• WIC Approved Vendors (Updated November 2025)

All approved foods are listed on the "WIC Approved Foods List" document below:

• WIC Approved Food List (Updated October 2025)

For tips on how to clean, prepare, and store various fresh fruits and vegetables that you can purchase with your WIC Benefits check out Produce Basics at Iowa State University's Outreach and Extension Spend Smart. Eat Smart. site.

wichealth.org is WIC’s online nutrition education portal. wichealth.org can be used to complete nutrition education appointments online, as well as to find resources and recipes to support and feed your family. It only takes a minute to create an account, and you will only need your WIC family ID number. If you do not know your ID number, your local agency can provide this number to you. Need help creating an account? Check out this video to help walk you through the process:

English

Spanish

In Iowa, the WIC program welcomes fathers and father figures to take active roles when participating with the WIC program.

WIC knows the importance of your roles in your partner's and children’s lives and encourages you to attend your child's or partner's appointments. Here are some resources to help you in adjusting to the roles of fatherhood.

• Fatherville is an online resource for fathers, by fathers, and about fathers. Fatherville provides articles, essays, and resources, and encourages the exchange of stories and ideas among fathers.
• The National Center for Fathering provides information to inspire and equip fathers (and father figures) to be actively engaged in the life of every child. Visit their website for more information, articles, program information and education options.

This website calls itself the baby manual for fathers and is a resource offering a collection of videos around the "New Dad Manual." Visit their website for videos on car seat installation, diapering, bathing and more!

Contact your local WIC clinic if you have difficulty understanding or reading English for help translating resources. If you have a language barrier, there is free language assistance or other aids and services available upon request at your local WIC clinic. Relay Iowa is a telephone relay service that links people who are hearing, deaf, hard of hearing or have speech difficulties with one another for communication over the telephone.

Relay Iowa

Main: 711 | English: 800-735-2942 | Spanish: 800-264-7190

Relay Iowa Customer Service

English: 888-516-4692 | Spanish: 866-744-7471