WIC: Virtual Services and Partnerships Address Nutrition Needs and More

Changing Practices Through the Pandemic

Because of social distancing requirements in place during the pandemic, the WIC office where Uddin works has changed its practices in several important ways. Staff used to meet with clients face to face. Now they do the intake, counseling, and nutritional education via phone, email, Zoom, Facetime, or WhatsApp.

Once that process is complete, Uddin and her staff mail WIC vouchers to clients, who can then use them to buy formula and healthy foods and drinks like whole grain bread and milk. But the vouchers can take up to 10 days sometimes to reach families via the mail, so if families are in more urgent situations—running low on formula for instance—then St. Joseph’s staff will meet them outside using appropriate protective measures to keep participants and staff safe.

As one participant said, “I don’t have to be scared that I have to go to the office with my children, or myself.  Everything is from home. I feel safer that I can do everything from my phone.”

“E-Prescriptions” for Community Resources

When it comes to conducting some services virtually, the St. Joseph’s WIC office was somewhat ahead of the game when the pandemic struck. They started administering some services virtually in 2019, via a digital app called NowPow. It “e-prescribes” WIC participants resources, including nutrition education and referrals for other agencies, just like a doctor would prescribe a medication.

The NowPow tool provides continuously vetted community resources in a client’s preferred language and fosters a heightened level of accountability among partners. Particularly when using the tracked referral capability, WIC staff can communicate securely with partners, confirm clients received a service, and monitor how long it takes from initial referral to completion. While WIC participants used to come into the WIC office to get community resource referrals, now, because of NowPow, a lot of the referral program aspects can be done from the safety of their own homes.

Referrals are delivered via text message, which is popular with participants. For example, participants mentioned that it was easier for them to keep track of their referrals and other information because they were easily accessible from their own phones. Also, by administering referrals virtually, participants can access benefits without having to put themselves or their families at risk by having traditional, in-person visits to the WIC office.

Expanding Services through Partnerships

The WIC food package includes foods and beverages that are healthy for pregnant or breast-feeding mothers, and can support a healthy early childhood. But at critical times especially in the early months of the pandemic, people were buying many of these items and sometimes WIC participants could not find what they needed.

St. Joseph’s WIC program guides an increasing number of clients by phone through bureaucratic hurdles and helps direct them to stores that have the food they require. There is always a nutritionist in the office to process walk-ins or if moms are in dire need of something.  For instance, if a doctor changes a prescription to a special formula, the WIC nutritionist is there to assist that person immediately.

But clients have additional challenges that are pressing in the pandemic.  “The need has definitely increased,” says Uddin. In response, St. Joseph’s developed and expanded partnerships with other community organizations.

As an example, one of the community resources available on NowPow was CUMAC, an anti-hunger and community building organization in Paterson. CUMAC’s Executive Director Mark Dinglasan understands that the COVID-19 crisis makes going to grocery stores harder and less safe for many people. At the same time, more people are in need of extra help to ensure their families have enough healthy food. Mark incorporated this need into the organization’s pandemic relief efforts, and asked Anny if he could help mitigate COVID-19 challenges with new moms.

CUMAC recruited volunteers from the community, including the First Lady of New Jersey Tammy Snyder, to prepare WIC food boxes, which CUMAC delivers (curbside) every two weeks to families enrolled in WIC. The boxes are filled with high quality, shelf stable food tailored for pregnant and nursing mothers. The boxes also include fruits, vegetables, and other supplemental food and are designed to last for 7-10 days.

WIC staff are uniting with CUMAC and other organizations in Paterson, like the Health Coalition of Passaic County (HCPC) and its Director of Clinical and Community Engagement, Dr. David Asiamah, to provide comprehensive services to meet the mounting challenges their clients face. Dr. Asiamah was also the person who headed the Nowpow application introduction and push for service at St. Joseph’s WIC Program, further proving its force and success within the community.

More Flexible Policies Help More Families in Need

Uddin and staff at other WIC offices across the country have been able to see participants remotely because the U.S. Department of Agriculture waived some traditional requirements for in-person certification and service. Those waivers were set to expire on September 30, 2020, but USDA acted to extend them “throughout the national public health emergency.”

With more certainty about how WIC will operate for the foreseeable future, Uddin has begun planning for longer term efforts, and looking forward to future positive progress.