Potential WIC funding shortfall may impact more than 100,000 women, children in Ohio, Pennsylvania

During a White House press call Wednesday, officials discussed the ramifications to the supplementmental nutrition program for Women, Infant, and Children - better known as WIC - if not fully funded by Congress for the 2024 budget.
WIC, a food and nutrition program run by the US Department of Agriculture, provides federal grants for food, health care referrals, and nutritional education to low-income pregnant women or women with children up to age 5.
According to Neera Tanden, Director of the Domestic Policy Council, if Congress doesn't approve the amended budget, states may need to address the shortfall, potentially impacting nearly 2 million people, including 52,000 current recipients in Ohio and 51,000 in Pennsylvania.
In September of 2023, 6.65 million people were participating in the program.
Xochitl Torres Small, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, said that if full funding doesn't pass Congress, it would lead to a $1 billion shortfall for those currently enrolled.
According to the press release, bipartisan support has funded WIC for more than 25 years. If Congress were to fund the program at the current, lower Continuing Resolution level for the remaining months of the fiscal year, the $1 billion shortfall would be equivalent to 1.5 months of benefits for all program beneficiaries. The $1 billion shortfall also equals the estimated cost of providing six months of benefits to all pregnant women and infants participating in WIC.
Small stated that this could lead to states needing to impose waiting lists for breastfeeding and postpartum women.
Grace Hou, Illinois Deputy Governor for Health and Human Services, said that Illinois saw a 10,000-person increase in the needs from WIC in the last year alone.
Georgia Machell, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of the National WIC Association said that the need for nursing or developing children to be able to receive the much-needed nutritional services needs to be more accessible, and if funding is slashed, it could lead to hundreds of millions in funding lost for those in need.
810,000 is the estimated number of applicants for WIC Clinics Process Monthly for FY 2024.
Machell called on Congress to fully fund the program.