GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) —The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced changes to two state programs that help people get access to healthy food.
That includes Food and Nutrition Services, also known as FNS, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, also known as WIC.
The changes are coming because the federal public health COVID-19 emergency ended in May.
“I think we have a whole generation of participants that have never been to the clinic and that they’re used to operating under those waivers. So we’ve been in a transition process not to create a shock as to … how we’re going to operate,” said Edna Tirado, Guilford County WIC administrative officer.
NCDHHS says more than 260,000 people in North Carolina are currently enrolled in WIC, and about 1.6 million North Carolinians currently receive FNS benefits.
Federal public health emergency guidelines allowed certain flexibilities and exceptions but are now ending in the coming weeks.
FNS changes were effective as of July 1.
With the changes to FNS benefits at about 14%, nearly 12,500 of Guilford County’s active participants will be directly impacted by the three-month time limit for receiving benefits. college student recipients and some recipients with felony drug convictions will be impacted and may no longer be eligible.
For FNS benefits, the lifting of the waivers will not have a direct impact on what recipients will be allowed to purchase but will mainly affect how many months certain participants will be eligible to receive benefits.
After Aug. 1, families participating in WIC will no longer be able to get product substitutions on items such as milk and yogurt and the size of some whole wheat and whole grain bread.
“So that means that you have to pay close attention to what benefits you have and the exact measures and size and type of benefits,” Tirado said.
Some of the restrictions were loosened during the pandemic due to supply chain issues.
Now Food and Nutrition Services and WIC will both have changes to their recertification process for people receiving benefits.
One big change expected to impact a lot of families is WIC will no longer do extensions and automatic issuance of benefits.
“That means that clients need to take action. You need to present yourself to the clinic if you have a certification,” Tirado said. “Clinics are open here in Greensboro and in High Point, and if you have a nutrition education appointment, you need to complete that in order to avoid the interruption of benefits.”
WIC started having clients come into the office in July to ease them into the changes with many clients still used to the waivers.
“The clients coming into the clinic are surprised as to everything that WIC offers because it’s not just giving out some benefits. So it’s been a plus,” Tirado said.
The Guilford County WIC Clinic encourages families receiving benefits to use the BNFT app. It can be used to check balances and can also be used to scan items to see if they’re eligible for the program.
A Guilford County spokesperson shared that participation in the employment and training program for eligible FNS recipients could allow participants the ability to extend the number of months they receive FNS benefits.