Statewide WIC services will resume Friday; $2.5 million emergency grant

ST. GEORGE – Utah’s Women, Infants and Children program will resume full operations Friday, according to a news release from the Utah Department of Health. WIC clinics throughout the state are expected to reopen at noon and will begin issuing food vouchers immediately.

The program, which is funded by the federal government but administered by state and local officials, provides new and expectant mothers with prenatal vitamins, baby formula and food while they are pregnant and nursing. After being suspended indefinitely on Wednesday as a result of the federal government shutdown, the program was rescued by a $2.5 million emergency grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The grant will allow the program to continue operating at full scale at least through the end of October; however, Utah WIC Director Chis Furner said that’s about as far as the money will go.
“Unfortunately, we’re not entirely out of the woods,” Furner said in the statement issued by the Health Department. “If Washington can’t reach an agreement to end the shutdown by the end of this month, we’ll likely wind up in the same position we found ourselves in earlier this week.”

The Southwest Utah Public Health Department confirmed that all WIC clinics in the area will be open Friday at noon and will continue to operate under normal business hours for the rest of the month.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2013, all rights reserved.

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6 Comments

  • Tyler October 3, 2013 at 2:12 pm

    Thankyou, USDA!

  • DoubleTap October 3, 2013 at 2:21 pm

    Yayyyy….the free stuff is back!!!

    But it sure sucks to have to pay for it for all the others.

    • Craig October 3, 2013 at 3:05 pm

      Amen to that.

    • Ron October 4, 2013 at 8:05 am

      Glad you’ve never been down on your luck, DoubleTap–although maybe, if you had, you would have some compassion for others.

      • DoubleTap October 4, 2013 at 9:05 am

        Ron:
        Been there in the past. But I never depended on the government for the free stuff that all taxpayers pay for.
        I have been blessed to now be able to help others through my church and other faith-based charities, where I know that my contributions are NOT going to the free stuff “addicts”.
        It is called responsibility. I have been responsible for myself and my family, and have been dependent on ONLY myself for my and my family’s existence and well-being.
        Sorry…I just don’t believe in HAVING to pay for other peoples basic and luxury needs.
        Now, if you’ll excuse me….I need to answer my ObamaPhone.

  • Holly October 4, 2013 at 12:01 am

    For the people who were panicking, this will be a great relief. I hope you all can get back on your feet soon 🙂

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