Millions of moms and young kids could lose WIC food assistance within two weeks amid shutdown

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By Tami Luhby, CNN

(CNN) — Barbie Anderson is trying to conserve the milk her three young children drink in case she doesn’t get her WIC benefits on October 15 as scheduled.

Though Anderson and her husband both work, they have depended on the federal food assistance program to stretch out their grocery budget since their older son was born nine years ago. The money is especially important because the prices are very high at the closest supermarket to their rural northern Minnesota home, with a gallon of milk costing more than $5.

The WIC benefits her 3-year-old son receives allow her to purchase oranges and orange juice – which she considers vital to strengthening the children’s immune systems so they don’t have to go to the doctor – and to pick up essential items. It’s the only public assistance the family receives.

“We don’t have the money to buy milk, eggs and everything that the kids need right now,” said Anderson, who works in billing part-time, while her husband works in a lumberyard. “We’ve always struggled, but now we struggle even more to try to make it.”

However, if Congress doesn’t resolve the federal funding impasse, WIC could run out of money within a week or two, according to the National WIC Association. The stalemate, which has prompted the first government shutdown in six years, has already lasted nearly a week with no end in sight.

The 50-year-old program, which has long had bipartisan support, serves nearly 7 million pregnant women, new mothers, infants and young children and has been shown to improve families’ health. Republicans, including the Trump administration, are highlighting WIC participants as among the Americans who will soon suffer from the fallout of the shutdown.

The US Department of Agriculture told state agencies last week that due to the lapse in funding they will not receive their quarterly allocation of fiscal year 2026 money for WIC, formally known as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children.

However, the department said intends to allocate up to $150 million in contingency funds to state WIC agencies suffering from shortfalls. Also, states can use rebates from infant formula manufacturers, as well as their own funds, according to the USDA guidance obtained by CNN.

“Nutrition programs will operate based on state choice and the length of a shutdown,” the USDA said Friday in a statement to CNN. “If Democrats do not fund the government, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) will run out of funding and States will have to make a choice.”

This shutdown is particularly problematic for WIC because it comes at the start of the fiscal year, so state agencies have not received their grants yet, said Ali Hard, director of public policy for the National WIC Association. The most recent prior shutdown, which lasted a record 35 days, started in the month of December, when agencies had already received some annual funding.

During other shutdowns, states have stepped in – or committed to doing so – to keep the program afloat until Congress approved a spending package. But it could be more difficult for them this year since many are facing their own funding crunches due to rising participation in the program, Hard said.

“WIC is literally a lifesaving program,” she said. “We could see lifelong impacts to participants if benefits are disrupted.”

Source of food and advice

WIC helps enrollees purchase infant formula, baby food, cheese, yogurt, bread, peanut butter, fruits, vegetables and other staples, as well as providing breastfeeding and nutrition support. Participation has increased in recent years as federal and state policymakers made it easier to enroll and recertify, improved the shopping experience and enhanced the benefits. Also, a surge in inflation, particularly for food, in recent years has squeezed the budgets of many Americans, especially low-income families.

WIC’s lactation and nutrition consultants helped Nicole Echols navigate becoming a first-time mom. The Miami resident felt she could ask them any question and didn’t feel rushed. She called the one-on-one support “priceless.”

The grocery benefits have also been a crucial cushion for her and her 2-month-old son, Jason, especially as she grows her sustainable development consulting firm, UpBeat Eco. If she doesn’t receive their benefits mid-month as scheduled, she’ll have to put her food purchases on a credit card and cut back on fresh fruits and vegetables, which gives her pause since she’s breastfeeding.

“It’s not something I want to do, but I would have to because I don’t have the money,” Echols said, adding that she’d probably buy frozen food in a large bag instead so she could stretch it out.

All the talk of WIC potentially running out of funding is prompting Sheila Epps to go to the supermarket now to use up the rest of the monthly benefits she receives for her 1-year-old granddaughter, Nurianna, who she has custody of. Epps is concerned they could just disappear, leaving her without assistance to buy milk, bread, juice, eggs and cheese.

If the Rochester, New York, resident doesn’t receive her October benefits, she and her husband, Erik, will have to dip into their savings. If the shutdown continues, she might take a second job – such as driving for Uber.

“I’d do anything to feed my granddaughter,” said Epps, who works in technology at a financial services firm and whose husband works in manufacturing.

Funding concerns

Even after the shutdown ends, advocates are concerned about WIC having sufficient funding for the coming fiscal year. Unlike food stamps, federal support for WIC is capped – though Congress has always allocated enough money to provide for all participants.

The program received $7.6 billion in funding for fiscal year 2025, which ended September 30. The pending full-year spending bill in the House would keep funding flat and reduce WIC’s fruit and vegetable benefit, while the version approved by the Senate would provide $8.2 billion for this fiscal year.

Advocates stress more money is needed this fiscal year to make sure no one is turned away and benefits don’t get cut. Enrollment stood at just under 6.9 million people in May, the most recent month available, up nearly 126,000 from a year earlier and nearly 193,000 from two years ago.

“Longer-term beyond the shutdown, having adequate funding will be important … so everyone who is eligible and seeks to participate can,” said Zoë Neuberger, senior fellow at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

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