Henry County Health Department WIC Program Reminder in Global Child Nutrition Month
April is recognized as Global Child Nutrition Month, and the Henry and Stark County Health Department is reminding local families about the benefits of the WIC program. The initiative supports children and mothers by providing free groceries and encouraging healthier lifestyles. In-person appointments have fully resumed for Henry, Stark, Marshall, and Putnam Counties, while online applications remain an option. WIC, which supports women, infants, and children up to age five, offers free groceries, nutrition education, and promotes healthier lifestyles. WIC participants now use a single Illinois WIC EBT card, streamlining benefit access for families. To accommodate busy schedules, WIC service hours have been expanded.
The department has expanded WIC hours to better serve working families and school children. With the user-friendly WIC EBT card, grocery shopping is now easier and more flexible. Eligible participants receive essential food items like milk, formula, eggs, fruits, and vegetables. For eligibility and application details, visit the Health Department’s website or call their offices.
Heather Aldred, RN, Maternal and Child Health Services Supervisor with the Health Department, states, “Henry, Stark, Marshall and Putnam County residents have fully returned to only in-person “Face to Face” appointments and services delivery. We do, however, still offer an online application feature to the program. We are thrilled to once again have the chance to offer these important and vital family services directly to our participants. In addition, we remind those who may be interested in taking advantage of all that WIC offers, that the New Illinois WIC EBT Card is available to all WIC participants! This makes WIC Services even more easy for area families to use.”
Aldred adds, “All current WIC participants and households are now issued just one Illinois WIC EBT Card with all the food benefits on this one card; no more handling multiple checks for different members of your family. The WIC process remains the same, benefits are reloaded on your card every three months after contacting and checking in with our WIC Staff.”
Assistance is offered in both Kewanee and Colona. For details, call 309-852-5272 in Kewanee or 309-792-4011 in Colona, or visit henrystarkhealth.com to apply online. Additional information is also at www.fns.usda.gov/wic.