Washington’s WIC program could cease operations as soon as one to two weeks into shutdown

OLYMPIA – With the federal government now shut down, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is assessing immediate impacts and working with partners to minimize disruptions to critical public health services.

One of the most at-risk services is Washington’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program , which provides healthy food and nutrition support to more than 212,000 Washington residents each year.

WIC program faces critical funding shortage

Based on normal utilization, internal estimates are that Washington WIC may be able to sustain benefits for approximately two weeks before a federal shutdown would force a full closure of the program.

If utilization goes up, funding may run o

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