Families who participate in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) supplemental nutrition program will now have an easier time shopping for approved grocery items. Indiana health officials say programs in all 92 counties are now using electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards instead of paper checks.
This will allow WIC participants to shop for groceries anywhere by swiping their card and entering a PIN. Nearly half of all new mothers in Indiana take part in the program, and officials say the new card will make their shopping experience easier and less time-consuming.
Indiana WIC provides healthy food, including fruits and vegetables, from more than 650 grocery stores throughout Indiana to eligible Hoosiers each month. Indiana WIC Director Eldon Whetstone says the cards will allow participants to buy approved items as needed instead of all at once with the traditional paper checks.
More than 15,000 WIC clients are now using EBT cards. All clients will be converted by the end of the year as current paper checks expire.
