Facility Tour Highlights an Innovative Approach to Wraparound Services

In February, national and state food and nutrition leaders visited a Catholic Charities WIC center in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood to learn more about our innovative approach pairing wraparound services with grocery access.

USDA Administrator Cindy Long, and Midwest Regional Administrator Vista Fletcher joined Beatriz Ponce de Leon, Assistant Director of Family Community Services for the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), and Stephanie Bess, State WIC Director for IDHS, for the visit which focused on participant experiences. Catholic Charities CEO Sally Blount and Chief Program Officer Ami Novoryta welcomed the guests, Associate Vice President Shivonnia Dickson and Center Director Tiffany Gilder led a tour of the store, and a half dozen parents who frequent the store joined USDA and IDHS leaders for a  roundtable discussion.

During the roundtable discussion, parents spoke about how they love the fresh produce in the center, and shared that they did not need to worry about formula during the crisis, which alleviated a huge source of stress.  Moms shared they feel welcomed at the center, and expressed the desire to have more opportunities to connect with other parents.  Coming out of COVID, Catholic Charities is hearing this sentiment from mothers across its centers, and in partnership with the state, they are planning breastfeeding support and education sessions and other community-building activities to meet parents’ needs.

I’ve tried going to the grocery stores and other WIC-approved shopping centers. It is always a hassle for me. There were times most of my items that were displayed as WIC-approved would not scan as such at the stores. I would end up embarrassed having to put my items back or having to pay out of my pockets in order to avoid the embarrassment. After experiencing this on numerous occasions, I just decided it is best to continue my WIC shopping at the WIC Grocery Centers. The staff is very nice and helpful. For the most part, the selection of groceries is good quality. Shopping here is always easy and hassle-free for me and my baby.

WIC Participant

Nearly 30 years ago, Catholic Charities’ WIC Food and Nutrition Centers were created a to minimize local food insecurity and centralize access for WIC-eligible families. Today, the 16 centers across Chicago’s South, West, and North Sides continue offering access to healthy food, nutrition education, and access to social services for mothers and their children. All foods in the centers meet USDA Nutrition Requirements which simplifies shopping, addressing a common pain point of WIC participation nationally.

In addition to basic grocery support, Catholic Charities’ WIC centers became a vital lifeline during the infant formula shortage of 2022 and 2023. Throughout the shortage, Catholic Charities remained fully stocked as the Illinois infant formula rebate contractor was able to prioritize shipments to the Catholic Charities warehouse.  Families from 20 Illinois counties were able to redeem their formula benefits at the Catholic Charities centers during that time.  The USDA also granted special permission for Catholic Charities to ship formula directly to WIC agencies and conduct a remote transaction when all other options for accessing formula in some rural communities were exhausted.  During the roundtable, WIC participants shared their stories with Administrator Long which echoed the vital role Catholic Charities played during the formula crisis.

WIC centers also serve beyond basic nutrition needs, partnerships with aligned service providers are also a core tenet of the WIC centers. In the Logan Square WIC center, partner Birth to Five is onsite so that mothers can easily drop in to provide feedback on the Illinois approach to early childhood education and receive additional services at the same time. Many WIC centers also have health clinics, or pop-up events with other nonprofit providers.

To learn more about WIC Centers, visit www.wicgrocery.org or call (773) 522-7230.