Ohio advocates worry federal funding to support women and infants is in danger

Congressional conflict is spelling uncertainty for 176,513 women, infants and children enrolled in an Ohio program that receives federal funds to help feed pregnant people and children.

Advocates trying their best to feed hungry families are worried about longstanding questions within the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program nationwide, with funding hanging on to continuing resolutions and increasing enrollment and costs causing program leaders to dip into future funding to keep the program going.

“Basically Congress was saying ‘don’t make any changes, don’t put people on waitlists, you guys keep spending,” said Hope Lane-Gavin, director of nutrition policy and programs for the Ohio Association of Foodbanks.

But at some point, the continuing resolutions — those temporary stopgap measures that Congress puts in place to keep the federal government from shutting down until a longterm solution is created — must stop and the government will need to be fully funded.

As to what will happen to the WIC program, Lane-Gavin said if the program isn’t fully funded by March 1, or if another continuing resolution isn’t passed, states may have to institute a waitlist for benefits or reduce the level of benefits for recipients to maintain the number of participants.

Even if the funding comes at current levels, the USDA has said that will amount to a shortfall of $1 billion.

Uncertainty

Pregnant people and households with children up to age 5 can qualify if their income is up to 185 percent of the federal poverty line.

As of January 2024, Ohio’s WIC program provided not only nutrition supports but also education like breastfeeding resources and immunization outreach to 176,513 women, infants and children, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

“The program is fully funded at this time through the federal government’s continuing resolutions,” said Ken Gordon, press secretary for the ODH. “Because it is uncertain whether the program will have funding shortages in the future, ODH cannot speculate on what adjustments might need to be made.”

A loss of the program just can’t be an option for the public who needs the program more and more every year, and for already overwhelmed foodbanks.

“We can not afford to absorb the loss in WIC,” Lane-Gavin said. “We can not meet the need already for just the people in our lines right now, but can not also meet the needs of this specific population.”

Baby formula isn’t something the foodbanks receive a lot of, and even if they receive it, expiration dates and storage specifications make it hard to keep around.

“Foodbanks survive largely off of commodities and surplus,” Lane-Gavin said. “There’s not a lot of flexibility with baby formula.”

The WIC program has historically seen bipartisan support, and during the pandemic, the cash-value benefit (CVB) that allows WIC participants to buy more fruits and vegetables was increased. As of fiscal year 2023, the monthly CVB benefit for children was $25 and $44 for pregnant and postpartum participants, according to the USDA.

Before the pandemic increase, the CVB was $9 per month for children and $11 for pregnant and postpartum individuals, and there was a push to maintain the pandemic aid levels, supported by hunger advocates. But without an ensured funding source, that level may not hold.

In January, the USDA released their own push for Congress to fully fund the WIC program this year, saying it is “critical that final appropriations bills fully fund WIC, to allow the program to continue to serve all eligible pregnant women, mothers, infants and children who apply.”

“The current funding levels will not cover all eligible participants, and the longer Congress puts off fully funding WIC, the greater the risk to mothers, babies and children seeking nutrition and health support from the program,” the USDA said in a statement.

With the continuing resolutions, the USDA said, Congress has “indicated that the (USDA) and states should spend current funding at a faster rate in order to serve everyone who is eligible through March 2024, but they haven’t provided the funds to cover the program once those resources run out.”

Funding at the current levels would result in a $1 billion shortfall, according to the USDA, “equivalent to 1.5 months of benefits for all program beneficiaries.”

“The $1 billion shortfall also equals the estimated cost of providing six months of benefits to all pregnant women and infants participating in WIC,” the statement from the USDA read.

An analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that an estimated 52,000 eligible Ohioans would be turned away in September 2024 if the shortfall occurs.

Potential solution…with a twist

Congress may be close to a deal to fill the gap in funding needed to keep the WIC program going, but the solution doesn’t fully satisfy advocates.

Fully funding the program could come with a so-called “SNAP-choice” five-state pilot program, a separate federal public assistance program. The pilot program could more strictly dictate the uses of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a tradeoff that has received criticism from food advocates.

In Ohio, Lane-Gavin said it spotlights an existing problem: the WIC/SNAP gap.

“In Ohio, you can qualify for WIC but not for SNAP,” she said.

WIC’s eligibility at 185 percent of the federal poverty line is much higher than SNAP’s level 130 percent, leaving a group to fall through the public assistance cracks. In a state who consistently faces high maternal and infant mortality rates, a gap in access only exacerbates existing issues.

“We’re already not in a good place, and I just can’t imagine what that’s going to do to outcomes,” Lane-Gavin said.

A study by the Health Policy Institute of Ohio showed infant mortality in the state has gradually gone down, though the decrease was “minimal and uneven.”

The likelihood of mortality is 164-percent higher for Black Ohioans versus white residents, and the rate of mortality has remained higher than other states.

Susan Tebben is an award-winning journalist with a decade of experience covering Ohio news, including courts and crime, Appalachian social issues, government, education, diversity and culture. She has worked for The Newark Advocate, The Glasgow (KY) Daily Times, The Athens Messenger, and WOUB Public Media. She has also had work featured on National Public Radio.

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