Each month, you are issued 3 "checks" per person. They spell out exactly what you can get for free at the grocery store. You may have noticed the little labels under some foods on the shelves that say "WIC approved." Here is what the "checks" look like:
2 stories to share:
* This week, Ryan has left for work at 6 am, as usual, and has taught 6th grade English to kids in Wichita until 5 pm each day. Two days this week, he has returned home at 8:30 pm because he had parent/teacher conferences after school. One day, he returned home at 6 pm because he had a training after school for the tutoring he will soon begin doing 2 days a week for kids at the school. Tonight he will go straight from school to Prairie View, where he will work until midnight as a mental health worker in the residential unit for teens. Although it seems minor in comparison, I'm working 15 hours at our church this week too.
* Today Eva doesn't have school. Sage usually naps mid-morning. We spent our morning at the Health Department in Newton. For an hour, the four of us were in a teeny tiny room (think smaller than a doctor's office room) with a nurse who talked with us in great detail about Sage and River's health - weight, length, hemoglobin level, immunizations, exactly how many ounces of formula Sage eats, where River sits when he eats, how many servings of protein he gets each day, how much tv he watches, etc. This is an awesome program - they educate parents about every way possible to make their child's eating healthier. Since I'm on child #3, I can honestly say that they rarely give me new info, but I wish I could've met with them back when I was on #1.
At the end of the hour, they issued my checks and I hauled us all to Dillons. I usually use all 6 checks at once because it is cumbersome to get exactly what is on the checks, and it takes the checkers about 4 times longer per check to ring things up. (My kids were awesome. I found a new trick....They love kiwi...Let them both pick one and carry it the whole time we're in the store...they kept their mitts off of everything and moved very calmly so as not to bruise their kiwi!)
I had 32 containers of babyfood, 7 formula cans, 3 gallons of milk, whole wheat tortillas, bananas, cheese, juice, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.
It wouldn't ring through.
The checks were dated for October 22.
Today is October 21.
No Can Do.
So I will need to haul us all back there sometime after 10/21/2011 ends and before 11/22/2011 begins to try again.
I am so very very grateful for the WIC program. I love giving my kids healthy foods. I love taking groceries to my car once a month and knowing that I spent about $30 instead of $130 for what I have. I'm not mad - today was my mistake.
But I have several requests for you...
1. Please do not assume that people who are on WIC don't help themselves. Ryan and I bust our a-double-s to keep our family healthy and to make enough money to meet our daily needs.
2. Please don't assume that people who are on WIC have it easy. If you believe that we do, I invite you to accompany me to the WIC office and then the grocery store with my 3 cherubs absolutely any day.
3. Support it with your votes for local, state, and national government offices.
4. If you're on WIC, celebrate it. Tell your friends. It is not shameful to accept healthy food for free for you and your children. Don't be embarrassed. Instead be grateful.
My fellow rockstars and I say thank you!