WIC Vendor Resources

A WIC vendor must:

• Be open at least five days per week. Daily operating hours shall be consistent from week to week, and shall be posted.
• Be at a permanent location.
• Not have had a SNAP Program disqualification or civil monetary penalty imposed with the 12 months preceding the date of the application.
• Not have received a WIC program disqualification or a WIC application denied within the six-month period preceding the date of the application.
• Not have had a conviction or civil judgment entered against them during the last six years for any activity indicating a lack of business integrity.
• Have a current State of Iowa Food Establishment License.
• Stock the minimum quantities and varieties of WIC approved foods. Inventory requirements are listed in the Grocery Vendors Application Guidance Form.
• Not realize or expect to realize more than 50 percent of its annual revenue from the sale of food items that are obtained with WIC food instruments.

Grocery vendors must meet the following WIC selection criteria:

• The vendor must be a primary retailer of groceries rather than of other merchandise. A grocery vendor is defined as a business which stocks ALL of the following items:
• Fresh produce (must have a minimum of five linear feet of refrigerated display space). Inventory requirement - 10 varieties of fresh fruits and 10 varieties of fresh vegetables.
• Fresh or frozen meats and poultry (must have a minimum of twelve linear feet of fresh or frozen unbreaded meat , pre-packaged luncheon meats do not qualify). Inventory requirements - 5 chicken, 5 beef, and 5 pork fresh varieties.
• Canned and frozen vegetables
• Dairy products
• Cereals and bread
• No more than 20% of the retailer's gross retail sales may be from the sale of gasoline or other automotive supplies.
• No more than 50% of the retailer's gross retail food sales may be from the sale of authorized WIC food items.
• Vendors are required to only purchase infant formula from listed sources maintained by the state WIC program in accordance with Section 203(e)(8) of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004. 

Current WIC Approved Infant formula manufacturers that are currently registered with the FDA and are marketing infant formulas in the U.S.

1. Abbott Laboratories

   Abbott Nutrition 

   3300 Stelzer Road

   Columbus, Ohio 43219-7677

2. Mead Johnson

   Mead Johnson Nutritionals

   2400 West Lloyd Expressway 

   Evansville, IN 47721-0001

3. Nestle, USA

   Nestle Infant Nutrition

   1812 North Moore Street 

   Arlington, VA 22209 

4. Nutricia North America [Formerly Scientific Hospital Supplies (SHS) North America]

   Nutricia North America

   77 Upper Rock Circle, Suite 303

   Rockville, MD 20850

   (SHS International, based in the UK, manufacturers most of Nutricia North America's products. Nutricia North America distributes the products in the US.)

5. PBM Nutritionals (Perrigo)

   PBM Nutritionals, LLC

   652 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Suite 300

   Charlottesville, VA  22911

6. Prolacta Bioscience

   Prolacta Bioscience 

   757 Baldwin Park Blvd

   City of Industry, CA 91746

7.  ByHeart

             ByHeart

             131 Varick Street, 11th Floor

             New York, NY  10013

If you're considering becoming a WIC Vendor, please review the appropriate guidance document prior to requesting an application. This will provide you important information to determine if you will likely be eligible to be a WIC Vendor and will outline the Application process so you know what your next steps will be. 

Vendor Application Guidance (160.28 KB) .pdf   

Once you have reviewed the Application Guidance document above, you may request an Application by contacting the State WIC Office. An Application will be sent to you via mail and you will have 60 days from the date of request to submit the completed Application.

Categories in the Iowa WIC approved food list (263.99 KB) .pdf are either Brand Specific or Non-Brand Specific:

• Brand Specific categories - Tofu, yogurt, soy beverage, bread, tortillas, oatmeal, bottled & frozen juice, store & national brand cereals, hot cereal, infant fruits & vegetables, infant cereal, and infant meats.
• Non-Brand Specific categories - Fresh & frozen fruit & vegetables, milk, cheese, beans, peanut butter, tuna & salmon, eggs, and brown rice. 

Non-Brand Specific submissions may be sent in at any time using the  UPC Submission Form (61.36 KB) .docx . All submissions will be processed and, if approved, immediately added to the approved products list (APL). 

Submissions that do not contain all of the necessary information will be automatically denied. All submissions must include the following:

• Product description
• Size of product (ounces, pounds, etc.)
• Full UPC (including the leading and check digits)
• Images of nutrition panel, front label, and ingredients list
• At a minimum all products must meet USDA regulations on qualifications for products.

Brand Specific submissions may be submitted any time, however, will only be reviewed at certain times (please see Submission Timeline, above). 

There is no form for Brand Specific submissions, as we will accept a number of formats for submission. Simply attach the document(s) which are easiest for you to an email addressed to: [email protected]. 

Submissions that do not contain all of the necessary information will be automatically denied. All brand submissions must include the following:

• Product description
• Size of product (ounces, pounds, etc.)
• Full UPC (including the leading and check digits)
• Images of nutrition panel, front label, and ingredients list

At a minimum all products must meet USDA regulations on qualifications for products.

To report program abuse or fraud, or to file a complaint against another vendor, local WIC agency, or a WIC participant, you may use one of the following methods:

Call: 1-800-532-1579

Complete and submit the Vendor Comment Form (77.53 KB) .pdf via:

• Email: [email protected] or
• Fax: 515-281-4913
• Mail:
  • Iowa Department of Public Health
  • Attn: WIC Vendor Section
  • 321 East 12th Street
  • Des Moines, IA 50319-0075

When to complete the Vendor Comment Form

Here are examples of when to complete the form:

• WIC participant tried to buy unauthorized items
• WIC participant requested cash or additional foods for the eWIC card.
• WIC participant tried to return items purchased with an eWIC card for cash or credit.
• WIC participant was verbally or physically abusive to employees.
• Suggestion/question/comment