Affinia Healthcare to Continue WIC Services for 2024

ST. LOUIS, MO – Affinia Healthcare is announcing a contract continuance to provide WIC services for federal fiscal year 2024 has been signed with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.   

     Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a special supplemental nutrition program providing services to pregnant women, new mothers, infants and children up to their 5th birthday based on nutritional risk and income eligibility. The primary services provided are healthy, supplemental food, risk assessment, nutrition education and counseling, breastfeeding promotion and support, health screening and referrals to health care. To be eligible for WIC, applicants must have an income of less than or equal to 185% of the poverty level and be at nutritional risk. Migrant families are also eligible.  

     WIC supplemental food packages are specially chosen to provide foods high in protein, iron, calcium, and vitamins A and C. Eligible women and children receive fortified milk and cheese, eggs, whole grain bread products, hot or cold cereals, 100% fruit juices, and fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. The WIC program recommends breastfeeding, provides breastfeeding support, baby foods, and infant cereal. For women who cannot or choose not to breastfeed, infants may receive supplemental, iron fortified formula. WIC participants obtain their foods by using their eWIC cards for specific items at participating local grocery stores and pharmacies.  

     Studies confirm that pregnant women who enroll in WIC during the early months of pregnancy have fewer low birth weight babies, experience fewer infant deaths, see the doctor earlier in pregnancy and eat healthier.  

     WIC is administered in St. Louis City and County by the Affinia Healthcare. Persons interested in applying or who are in need of more information should contact Affinia Healthcare at 314-898-1701. WIC clinics are offered at the following locations:   

     In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.  

     Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.  

     To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:   

mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture  

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights  

1400 Independence Avenue, SW  

Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or  

fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or  

email: program.intake@usda.gov  

This institution is an equal opportunity provider. 

About Affinia Healthcare 

Affinia Healthcare is a dynamic and transformative health system, providing affordable primary and preventive health care located in St. Louis, Missouri. Affinia Healthcare is a community health center, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and is accredited through The Joint Commission and National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) organizations. Through its 11 locations (which includes school-based health centers) in St. Louis City and County, Affinia Healthcare serves over 43,700 people per year, of whom more than 90 percent have incomes under 100 percent of the federal poverty level. Approximately 70 percent of patients served are Black or African American, 11 percent are Hispanic/Latine, and over 4,000 are unhoused.   

The Affinia Healthcare Foundation depends on a wide array of funding sources and individual donor contributions to care for the most vulnerable and disenfranchised in our community. To make a donation to the Affinia Healthcare Foundation, visit www.affiniahealthcare.org/donate. 

For more information about Affinia Healthcare, call 314-814-8700, or visit www.affiniahealthcare.org.