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Coronavirus (COVID-19) Relief Center

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Relief Center

California

These resources – like the public health crisis itself – are constantly evolving and are only current as to the date of publication. This page was last updated on September 25, 2020.

For more up-to-date information on the relief programs available in California, we recommend that you visit the Secretary of State's website or the California COVID-19 portal.

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Description of Program and Relief

Waiver of “Minimum Stocking Requirements” for WIC Vendors

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a federally-funded health and nutrition program that predates COVID-19, but can be used by eligible participants at this time. There are 83 WIC agencies in California that provide services at over 600 sites in the state.

WIC helps families by providing nutrition education, breastfeeding support, vouchers for healthy foods, and referrals to healthcare and other community services. WIC serves babies and children up to age 5, pregnant women, new mothers, dads, grandparents, foster parents of young children, and working families.

California WIC is working to ensure that families continue to receive WIC benefits at this time, and is providing resources with information about COVID-19: https://www.calwic.org/covid-19-resources/. As part of special COVID-19 related measures, the usual process, which: (1) requires that participants scheduled for nutrition education or certification commit to in-person food instrument pick-up, and (2) requires that employees, participants, and applicants physically come into the clinic, has been waived through May 31, 2020. Anthropometric and bloodwork requirements may be deferred for the same period of time.

On March 30, 2020, the USDA agreed to temporarily waive the regulation requiring California WIC authorized vendors to stock a minimum variety and quantity of supplemental food. California WIC authorized vendors typically must stock at least two different fruits, two different vegetables, and at least one whole grain cereal authorized by the State agency. Due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, these “minimum stocking requirements” have been waived for the purposes of vendor assessment and monitoring through May 31, 2020.

Government or Lead Agency

California Department of Health, Women, Infants, and Children Division

Dates Available

WIC benefits are ongoing.

Waiver of minimum stocking requirements for authorized California WIC vendors effective March 30, 2020 through May 31, 2020.

Eligibility Requirements/Restrictions

WIC benefits are available to:

  • Women who are pregnant, breastfeeding a baby under 1 year old, or had a baby or were pregnant in the past six months, and have low to medium income

  • Infants under 1 year old and children under 5 years old living in families with low to medium income

  • Individuals are income-eligible for WIC if they have a total household income equal to or less than the amounts shown in the WIC Income Guidelines, available here.

  • Individuals may be eligible if they receive Medi-Cal, CalWORKs (TANF) or CalFresh (SNAP) benefits.

  • Individuals do not have to be on a public assistance program to qualify for WIC.

  • California WIC authorized vendors are eligible for the waiver of minimum stocking requirements.]

Application Deadlines (If Applicable)

There is no deadline to apply for WIC benefits.

There is no deadline to apply to become an authorized CA WIC Vendor. For information on how to apply to become an authorized CA WIC Vendor and application materials, see here.

Contact for More Information

For more information on WIC benefits call (888) 942-9675 (toll free) or contact your local WIC office; offices are listed here.

For California WIC authorized vendor questions, please call (855) WIC-STOR or (855) 942-7867 or email WICVENDORINFO@cdph.ca.gov.

List of Additional Information

Further guidance from the California Department of Public Health guidance can be found here.

For more information on how to become a WIC authorized vendor in California, email WICVendorInfo@cdph.ca.gov, call (855) 942-7867, or visit the California WIC web page. There is no deadline to apply to become a WIC authorized vendor.

The USDA letter approving the waiver of “minimum stocking requirements” can be found here.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s waiver of minimum stocking requirements for vendors can be found here.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s waiver of in-person food instrument pickup requirements can be found here.


© 2021 Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. This does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. In some jurisdictions, this publication may be considered attorney advertising. Past representations are no guarantee of future outcomes.

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