Providing WIC services to homeless families

The Families in Transition program (FIT), in collaboration with the Univers ity of Maryland School of Medicine, designed and implemented a Special Supp lemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) homeless o utreach project. Staff scheduled regular outreach visits to shelters and so up kitchens to ensure that eligible participants were certified for the WIC program and families were closely followed. Two hundred fourteen homeless clients were certified for the WIC program during a 1-year period. A nutrit ional analysis of foods provided by shelters and soup kitchens revealed tha t participants' daily dietary intakes would be deficient in key nutrients f or pregnant and breastfeeding women and children under age 5. This analysis was based on the assumptions that participants at any given shelter or sou p kitchen had access to no food other than that provided by the shelter or kitchen and that participants consumed all foods available at the shelter o r soup kitchen. Providing intensive nutrition and health education played a key role in ensuring proper use of the WIC food packages. Outreach service s are fundamental to effectively serving homeless families through the WIC program.