ST. GEORGE – Due to the suspension of what are considered non-essential services and programs in the wake of the government shutdown, WIC services provided through the Southwest Utah Public Health Department will be unavailable until further notice.
WIC – Women, Infant, & Children – Is a federally-funded program which provides supplemental foods for pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, as well as infants and children up to 5 years old.
Note: Food vouchers issued for October may still be used.
“We hope this situation resolves quickly,” Dr. David Blodgett, SWUPHD Director, said. “We will resume our WIC program as soon as the federal government is able to fund it. Until then, all other health department services remain open, including immunizations. Lines and wait time for flu vaccine, for instance, are very short.”
According to KSL.com, 65,000 Utahns use the WIC program.
Updates will be posted at the Southwest Utah Public Health Department’s website, and Facebook page
High-risk WIC clients can also call the Utah WIC Program at 801-538-696, ext.3 for more information.
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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2013, all rights reserved.
If women and children dont get their vouchers for November, tell them to call the LDS bishop intheir neighborhood. The Chuch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will NEVER shut down!
Non essential services? We all know there are babies that rely on formula from the WIC program…food is essential. In my opinion the government shutdown WIC as a ploy from the president put pressure on the parties to get obamacare passed quickly…because the president knows peoples families rely on WIC. Shame shame shame
To get Obamacare passed? That ship sailed more than three years ago. The ACA has been the law of the land since March of 2010. It has survived nonstop attacks from republicans, and even a Supreme Court challenge.
Oh…well I have insurance and I can’t afford to go to the doctor anyway..with or without obama or a government shutdown…I have been affected by the government in the past but this time obamacare doesn’t affect me ( like I said I can’t afford to go to the doctor anyway) and the government shutdown doesn’t affect me( I get up and go to work like normal)….I am blessed. There was a time when the government hurt my family and no one, well maybe. that one postal worker cared) but other than that no one cared. So, if you were one of those people that didn’t care about my. family. You know who you are, well then, back at ya….not you phillipo
Are you completely delusional? Do you understand how the legislative process works? The ACA is the law of the land, and has been for nearly 4 years. And do a little research, notice which party is cutting food stamps and services for the poor. It certainly isn’t the President. I don’t care if you hate they guy, at least dislike him for reasons that aren’t fictional.
I am not completely delusional, but thanks for asking. Food is essential, Wic is essential, so it started with a comment I made about obamacare and holding the WIC program hostage to get it passed. I get it, it’s passed. I am not affected by it. I am poor!!! I make $12,000 a year. I can’t afford to go the doctor. I have insurance so I get don’t get fined…or maybe someone more educated on the subject can tell me why I have to have medical insurance. I pay my premium every month and yet the deductible is so high that i don’t go the doctor. So I pay $25.00 dollars a month and don’t go to the doctor. Many people are in my position, however my kids are grown but many families rely on WIC. Tell me why WIC was shutdown? Tell me why the government is withholding formula for babies? Tracie give me a reason why WIC is not essential?
I am not complaining, I would rather be poor and know Jesus, than be rich and not know Him.
Am I correct to say Obamacare is not completely in effect? I don’t want to do research on what party is cutting services for the poor. What do you mean it certainly isn’t the President? Tracie are you a demoncrat? I didn’t vote either way for the President. I didn’t vote at all. I feel so much hate coming from you Tracie. You should really get that checked out?
Since the government is shut down. They oughta clean house. Get new people in there and start over. Some of them congressman have been there too long and they are too old and too greedy.
I would ask you not to judge moms that choose to formula feed for whatever reason. In my case, my son has a ling condition that continues to puzzle doctors and elude diagnosis. He works extra hard to breath a needs extra calories that I couldn’t provide. We have worked hard to just keep him on the growth chart, Even now that he is one he needs $165 worth of pediasure a month as a continuous feed at night through a g-tube. That does not include the food he eats during the day. WIC has been a blessing to my family. It has allowed my family to survive (financially) and have our son at home with us and thriving.
Try breast feeding your kids instead of formula that’ll save money. And to just call the Bishop to say WIC stopped I need help is not how it’s supposed to be. If you have money for a cell phone, internet, cable tv, etc….. you have money to feed your own kids.
Sometimes breast feeding just isn’t an option. I have been there. Tried for months to get my son to latch. On another note, although I ended up bottle feeding in the end, I also pumped as much as I could so that he could get the benefits from my milk. Sometimes there are places that rent breast pumps and if your milk supply isn’t the problem this could help.
What about guys with kids? Latch? Give me a break! Nothing gets Utah women to talk other than nursing
Honestly, what is your problem with my comment? Giving out an idea for a way to feed a child besides breastfeeding and formula . . . since when is that harmful? Guys with kids don’t have this option so it obviously doesn’t apply to them. If you are ignorant as to what latch is, google it instead of trolling the comment board.
I’m a guy. I don’t breastfeed.
philiplo..I’m using my phone. I hope I got spelled correctly this time..I mean no offense to you.
What if you have vouchers for November & too already can we still use those 2
& December
This all depends on whether or not the government becomes functional again
STOP being irresponsible and having so many children that you can’t afford.
It is not always a matter of people having kids they can’t afford. Times are hard, people have lost jobs, or maybe gone through a divorce. Maybe one of the breadwinners was hurt and can no longer work. Not all people who need WIC are irresponsible. Don’t judge people and situations you obviously don’t understand and have never experienced.
That’s where the RESPONSIBLE part come in. PLAN for the unexpected.
Birth control is a responsible thing to do.
Yes, when it comes to unplanned pregnancies, I agree.
Now explain to me how you can always be ready for the unexpected. There is no possible way that you can always be prepared for the unexpected. Even with a saving account, or some sort of back up plan, what do you do when that money runs out? Even some of the most RESPONSIBLE people get into tight situations sometimes.
What do you do when the money runs out? You should prepare for the unexpected ahead of time. Do you know what an emergency fund is? If you lose your job, it’s something to fall back on. If your hours are cut, it’s something to fall back on.
In the meantime, get a second job and be prepared for when the SHTF. Don’t sit around and whine about not getting your FREE HANDOUT.
I am not whining about not getting my free handout. That is not the position I am taking at all. I am quite prepared at the moment, but I know other people who are not as lucky.
I don’t ever expect anything in this life to be given to me for free so don’t you dare project that bs on me. However, I have no problem helping out others when they are in need because I’m not a selfish jerk.
You keep saying be prepared but some people are still not so lucky. Some people don’t have the chance to get prepared and this program is just what they need to help get them back on their feet.
I am glad you had the foresight to keep your head from going underwater. If you ever need help in your life I hope the people around you are a lot more considerate and generous then you portray yourself to be.
I know what an emergency fund is. I happen to have a college degree and be in graduate school so there is no need to talk down to me like you are so much smarter than the average Joe.
This argument is ridiculous because the fact of the matter is that even though there are some that mooch off of the system, there are some who LEGITIMATELY NEED HELP! I would rather err on the side of caution and fund some of the lazy while knowing that those who ACTUALLY NEED IT are getting the help.
The system is far from perfect but that is the way it is right now.
Once again, I am not whining about not getting a handout, I am arguing in favor of those who need help. This economy is tough, there are not always enough jobs to go around, and I would rather show a little compassion. I think as long as people are still doing their best to get back on their feet, they should be given the benefit of a doubt.
Enjoy sitting on your high horse because I would rather not join you!
Why do so many people have sooo many kids around here? we have 1 child, work at a decent place with a decent wage with health insurance through my wife’s work pay $500 something a month for the 3 of us with 80/20 coverage and $5000 ded, why do we only have one child ? because we have to pay for everything, we have a decent home we bought in 2008 before everything crashed, did we give up on the house and abandon it like so many people ? NO ! there are way to many single mom’s or they say they are single who drive nice cars with nice smart phones and purses at the market, I am behind them in line and out comes the EBT card that looks like a debit card, that I have seen used at the movies and am pretty sure I have seen people buy a candy bar and get cash back, then there are those living with their baby daddy’s or their current loser but lying so that they can get assistance. I am sorry but if you can’t afford to feed,clothe,insure ect those children stop having so many if you get assistance whatever they gave you they should tax you at the end of the year.
This isn’t about EBT or food stamps. This article is about WIC: “Women, Infant, & Children – Is a federally-funded program which provides supplemental foods for pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, as well as infants and children up to 5 years old. ”
They also provide nutritional education and promote vaccinations and health programs.
You can’t take the vouchers and go to the movies with them. They are for specific items such as milk, formula, baby food, eggs, bread, beans and so on.
I agree there is abuse of EBT but that is a separate issue completely.
Under the ACA (aka:ObamaCare), birth control is available. Hopefully some of these people will take advantage of its availability.
I am all for birth control. I really think that along with he availability of birth control, there should be a way to educate the public in how to properly use these methods. Sadly, there is still a large percentage of the population that has no idea about birth control.
EBT, WIC, SNAP….are all paid for by taxpayers. A lot of these posters have a legitimate complaint when they/we have to pay for others basic needs. It’s all about responsibility of the person(s) concerned. Since when is it someone else’ responsibility to make sure other peoples prodigy are properly nurtured? Fortunately my wife and I are done raising ours. And never once (even during times of financial loss) did we have to depend on, beg, borrow or steal to nurture our children. And, no, this was not “centuries” ago. This was during the 70s and 80s, and our children came out just fine.
Again, you will notice it is all complainers who now are dependent on the government for the free stuff they have gotten used to. Now it’s an “I’m entitled to it” attitude.
If Mothers would breastfeed (it’s free) rather than giving up after 2 weeks of having her baby, then the low income public wouldn’t be so dependent on government-paid formula.
Some of you are the most judge mental people ever. In my case I had $40 grand saved great jobs and a 401k I lost my high paying job just after my son was born in 2007 when economic struggles started, I also had a rare infection from his birth when my uterus torn I had surgeries, and many hospital stays due to the meds I couldn’t breast feed my medical bills costs tons, when the blows couldn’t get any worse my husband lost his job. Our savings tried to cover mortgage and car payments, among others and we sank fast after 6 months of looking for employment and failing while I continued to be hospitalized we moved across states drained our savings lost our house in short sale, if I didn’t get wic I wouldn’t have made it. So tell me how you recover we eventually got minimum wage jobs and struggle. Not to mention we owed 8grand in taxes that year. Went from rolling in money to food stamps in a span of 2 years. 🙁
This is the reason I believe in WIC. I am so sorry you had to go through that. I know that I am grateful for government welfare programs that can help those who need. Yes some abuse the system, but most genuinely need it to survive.
Agree 100% I know there are extenuating circumstances but people are so damn lazy. I’d you’re too lazy to feed your baby the way people have for thousands of years then you’ll make a crappy mom, you’re welcome
Maybe it’s time for Utahns to wean themselves off the Federal Government teat.
I saw on the other Facebook comments that WIC is back in South Utah as of 1 today 3rd. Though people should know.
Yes Ma’am – for a time – here is the subsequent story link:
http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2013/10/03/mjf-wic-services-resume-tomorrow/
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Joyce Kuzmanic
Editor in Chief
Look our Daughter got pregnant unexpectedly and yes she is married.. It happens ok? But to go and tell someone they are a crappy Mom bbqueen because some Moms cannot breastfeed is inconsiderate.. There are many reasons why Moms cannot breastfeed So get off your High Horse and let them get the help that is so badly needed. Maybe people thought your Mom should not have you what about that one? Well the same difference. Yes people out here abuse the system, but give people a break and shut up. May God Bless You! Hope you don’t ever have to starve or beg in your life.. Maybe you will be well prepared when people come beating your doors down to steal your food and beat you to death. Oh my… Hope you are prepared to feed them so they don’t.. Wow. Or maybe they will beat you to death and you won’t have to worry about it anymore.. ! Think about that one before you run all of the Moms down that cannot breastfeed. and have to have help. Maybe due to their spouses being disabled due to kidney failure or the Fathers that have to have help even due to being out of a job and their wife leaves them and the kids and takes off. Hum.. ! Shut up and start respecting you heifer. I am sure you are not perfect yourself. Don’t judge another when you have not been there and walked a mile in their shoes to know them.
Ha haha Craig! Holly told you what’s up.. That’s right!
I have a question. Since when is it the government’s responsibility to provide for families? I agree with temporary assistance to those who face unexpected situations. That’s what families, churches, and civic organizations are for…..just a thought.