WIC funding approved, relief for Wisconsin caregivers

MILWAUKEE - A recently passed funding package will help Wisconsin families put food on the table.

It's a relief for caregivers in Wisconsin.

"What we want to say is everything is going to be okay," Hunger Task Force CEO Sherrie Tussler said.

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Earlier this month, Congress passed a bipartisan funding package 75-22.  The six-bill package fully funds the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program. It's a federal nutrition program that supports low-income caregivers, like pregnant and postpartum women, who have kids under the age of five.

Hunger Task Force CEO Sherrie Tussler

"That’s going to assure that Wisconsin families are going to be able to access that program and that program is not going to operate on a deficit and turn people away," Tussler said.

Tussler said in Wisconsin, that’s at least 27,000 families.

The need for the funding comes after people lost foodshare support from the pandemic and a formula crisis.

"It was just like, ‘what a relief,’" Tussler said. "Thank you for figuring this out because there’s a lot of moms and a lot of babies who really need the help."

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Tussler said without the funding, WIC services could have stopped and created long waiting lists, which is detrimental to a toddler.

"Within a week’s period, a child could suffer from malnutrition and even die," Tussler said.

The $7 billion only funds WIC through September. That's when the fiscal year ends, and with it, the  money budgeted. 

But until then, Tussler said this is good news.