CJFHC staff had the opportunity to provide comments to New Jersey Spotlight News regarding the New Jersey Department of Health's proposal to add online shopping and home delivery options for WIC families. WIC currently serves about 240,000 people in New Jersey, and if approved, NJ would be the first state to offer grocery delivery.

WIC, or the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, serves to safeguard the health of low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating including breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to health care. WIC customers currently need to purchase WIC foods and products in person. The new proposal would make online ordering and home delivery available, giving families who do not have access to reliable transportation or are unable to get to the store during working hours the opportunity to utilize WIC to its fullest potential.

CJFHC Healthy Families Program Manager, Lynda Cuevas, and CEO Robyn D’Oria provided comments for the article, reflecting on the positive impact delivery would have on families and the necessity for a higher level of accessibility in these programs. Click here to read the New Jersey Spotlight News article.

Central Jersey Family Health Consortium currently provides several programs that can assist families in applying for benefits like WIC, including Healthy Families, Connecting NJ, and Family Connects NJ. See a full list of all the community programs we offer here.