Vouchers give nutritious options to families

Like many mothers, Kira Hudson tries to incorporate fruits and vegetables into her children's diets but finds it difficult sometimes with a late work schedule and costs of produce.

The 23-year-old mother of two uses the Women, Infants and Children, or WIC, food package program to receive infant formula and milk every month, and with changes starting this month, Hudson can get more healthful food now.

"Getting produce would be a good thing," Hudson said. "It might actually make parents give their kids more fruits and vegetables every day. I know my kids don't get enough."

The Institutes of Medicine advocated nationwide changes to bring WIC food vouchers up to current standards of healthful eating. The changes were presented to Congress and are in an open comment period awaiting a final rule, but the WIC program began distributing vouchers June 1.

"The biggest benefit is the one-on-one education," said Chris Furner, Utah WIC manager. "They're looking for the nutritional benefit, but we believe these changes will allow a way for children, infants and parents to make healthy habits for life."

Besides adding avocados and apricots as a possible alternate choices, WIC's new food vouchers support cultural dietary habits by including brown rice and tortillas along with whole wheat bread, and regulates children over 2 receive reduced fat milk.

Following the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the WIC program wants to encourage mothers to breast-feed their children for multiple health reasons, including preventing postpartum depression, diabetes and several types of cancer.

"Teenage moms value getting back to pre-pregnancy weight," said Jewel Payne, a Salt Lake WIC supervisor. "It's like running five miles on a treadmill, which usually takes an hour. Breast-feeding is equivalent to burning 500 calories, and it shrinks your uterus to pre-pregnancy size."

Melissa Alvarez, a mother who recently signed up for WIC food vouchers when the school she works at closed for the summer, said her 9-month-old son Braxton only stopped breast-feeding a couple months ago, and she already misses the time.

Now Braxton will start on formula and some solid foods with his two growing teeth, and his mother is glad to have WIC available at a time when costs for formula and baby food are skyrocketing.