Southwest Montana News

Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) officials have reminded Montanans about the availability of the free Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Shopper App. The app is designed to assist families with their grocery shopping needs.

Kevin Moore from the Montana WIC Program stated, "We want to ensure that WIC recipients have what they need, and the app is one of the main tools that is available to help busy families." He added that the app includes features aimed at enhancing the shopping experience and modernizing service delivery.

The WIC Shopper App offers several features to help participants access their benefits and food items more efficiently. Sabrina Rubich, a Billings resident and WIC participant, commented on its usefulness: "The WIC Shopper App has been a big help as we try to make the most of our family budget. It helps track benefits and includes great recipes. I highly recommend the app to other families receiving WIC benefits."

Currently, over 6,500 families use the app each month.

DPHHS also highlighted an increase in benefits effective September 2022. Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), these increases allow for more purchases of fruits and vegetables. The monthly benefit now provides $25 for children up to age five, $44 for pregnant, postpartum, or partially breastfeeding individuals, and $49 for those fully breastfeeding. This represents an average monthly benefit increase of 37% for Montana families—the largest since 2009.

In Montana, WIC serves over 9,200 households across 29 local agencies and more than 80 clinic sites in all counties and tribal reservations. However, only 55% of eligible families are currently enrolled.

Eligibility for WIC requires participants to be pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding, or guardians of children under five years old. Income requirements must also be met—participants must earn less than 185% of the Federal Poverty Level or qualify for Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, or school meal programs.

WIC was established in 1974 to support families during critical growth periods by providing access to healthy food and other services without interfering with programs like SNAP or Medicaid.

For more information on eligibility or enrollment in WIC services in Montana, visit www.dphhs.mt.gov/ecfsd/wic/index or contact local clinics through signupwic.com. The state office can be reached at 1-800-433-4298 or via email at montanawicprogram@mt.gov.