Gave up on WIC -vent

Ima2NYM_LTR

Tue, Apr 20 2010, 11:45 am

I am so sick and tired of WIC. I was forced to get things I didnt need, and then couldnt get things I did.

We are a family of 4 having to get 6 gal of milk a month. Good thing I have a freezer, since I had to freeze some.

I had to get X amount of baby food jars a month- for goodness sakes, until I started WIC, I was making my own baby food.

The only OJ that worked for WIC locally was the frozen stuff- before WIC we never got frozen/concentrate.

If I didnt want something I still had to buy it, no matter if it would go to waste, or else I couldnt use the whole check.

Today was the kicker. I went to use my up to 30oz tuna, 1 box (? oz) cereal and 18 oz PB. I looked for the PB we usually buy, and got the 16.3 oz size, since the only other choice was 28oz. They (the store) wouldnt let me use the check because it wasn't 18oz. WHAT THE ???????

I am so sick and tired of it. They made us wait around while they checked the shelves for another brand which might have exactly 18 oz (and who knows if it was kosher- since I didnt look) and then ignored me when I tried to tell them forget it, I would just get that food on my own without WIC. Then they had the audacity to tell me if they didnt have the right size PB, I should just go to another store

Since starting WIC 3 months ago I have
1) wasted more time
2) wasted food, since I am forced to buy what I dont want
3) wasted taxpayers dollars on getting food I dont want
4) wasted my own money, since I have to figure out how to use all this extra food, and need to buy more things to do that
5) ended up yelling at total strangers over this
6) my blood pressure, which used to be great, has shot up
7) I end up in tears
8 ) my quality of life has gone down

So I took the WIC stuff back and I said that it wasnt worth it. For the little money is saves, the aggravation and belittling isnt worth it.

This is bureaucracy at its finest.

SivanMom

Tue, Apr 20 2010, 12:05 pm

I have never heard of not being able to use an entire wic check because you don't get one thing. I do it all the time, in many stores, without a problem. For example, peanut butter. Nobody in my family eats it. I don't remember the last time I took one. And there were several times the store didn't have whole grain bread in stock, so I just didn't get that one thing, but I definitely used the rest of the check. I wonder why you can't. Is the store making a mistake? Or does it work differently in different states (I'm in NJ). I really have no problems with my wic, and I'm very grateful for it. Also, in the last few months they started allowing regular Tropicana OJ. I never took the concentrate before that, but now I take the container.

tryinghard

Tue, Apr 20 2010, 12:16 pm

NY State makes you take everything on the check. in terms of the juice, you can try getting the 6-pack of 8 ounce tropicana containers. I often get away with that if the cashier isn't too medakdek - just point out that it's 48 oz.
find out if you can donate the milk to a school - or maybe you have neighbors who want. I call myself the government's gabbai tzedaka Smile

wtvr

Tue, Apr 20 2010, 12:47 pm

Maybe try a different store.

Here, it's all "in the system". I sometimes have a problem with kosher CY milk not scanning, and sometimes a cashier will give me a problem because it's two 1/2 gallons instead of one whole, but a manager can do a system override.

But I would try a different supermarket - Walmart doesn't carry variety, which is what keeps them cheap. It also may not be standard sizes.

I totally agree, though, that sometimes it's just not worth the hassle.

tryinghard

Tue, Apr 20 2010, 12:52 pm

Ima2NYM_LTR wrote:

no hemeishe stores here, and yes, they say I have to get everything on the check (flaw on the part of WIC) but not letting me use a whole check over 1.7oz of PB is flaw on the part of Walmart

I kvetch about this all the time. but in their defense, I have been told many times that they get audited for every single check...

marina

Tue, Apr 20 2010, 1:12 pm

The government can issue as many regulations as it wants for its voluntary subsidy programs. No one is forcing you to participate.

It's like my kids who complain that supper wasn't what they wanted and I end up throwing away half their plates. Yes, I'm wasting money. No, I don't care. I'm in charge, this is not a restaraunt, you will not be getting what you ordered, you'll be getting what I choose to serve and nothing else.

BinahYeteirah

Tue, Apr 20 2010, 1:24 pm

I don't think it is anything like kids who complain about what is served for supper. Rolling Eyes

It isn't just "the government's" money that is being wasted if the WIC program is poorly administered, it is taxpayer money. Just because someone receives WIC does not mean that they do not pay, will not ever pay, and have not ever paid taxes. So, in effect, one could even say that it is, in part, the WIC participant's own money (not to mention time) that is being wasted.

It isn't like this in my state. I do not have to buy everything on the check if I cannot use it. The sizes and amounts are generally listed as "up to 36 oz." or "between 16 and 18 oz.", so that different brands of product can be used. I have never had such trouble using WIC. People should complain about these problems, in a polite way, to the WIC offices, so that they can make appropriate recommendations when the regulations are updated periodically.

Besides, when I serve my children dinner, I don't force anyone to eat anything. If they don't like what I have to offer, that's too bad, but I'd rather know that they don't want what I'm serving so that I don't waste any by putting it on their plates, than waste resources that could have be used to benefit someone else.

marina

Tue, Apr 20 2010, 1:42 pm

Quote:

The government wastes tons of money on programs that I think are ill-considered and short-sighted. The good news is that I don't have to participate in them!

Sure, I can write a letter complaining about how inefficient a program appears to be and that might be a good idea if I am trying to improve government efficiency. But to write a letter simply complaining about how the program didn't meet my specific needs smacks of entitlement.

Do you really think taxpayer money would be better utilized if the overworked and underpaid workers administering WIC also had to spend time to determine what the particular needs of your family might be and whether you do or do not need baby food jars and frozen orange juice? Don't you think that an individual family assessment of your current nutritional awareness and future health needs would cost the taxpayers more money than an average assessment of what people with small children generally benefit from- I.e. baby food jars and orange juice?

Barbara

Tue, Apr 20 2010, 1:54 pm

marina wrote:

Quote:

The problem with that reasoning is that, let's say Family 1 has a child with a peanut allergy. They're not using that peanut butter. OP isn't saying *WIC should give that family something else instead* She's saying that is not right that WIC says *no PB, no milk or OJ*

OTOH, the purpose of WIC is to ensure that young children who are at risk are able to receive proper nutrition. Allowing families to pick and choose what they receive doesn't meet that goal.

I don't know HOW I feel about this one.

prettyone

Tue, Apr 20 2010, 2:07 pm

marina wrote:

Its obvious that you have no dealings with wic. I assure you that the "overworked and underpaid workers" are faring much better than those of us who work for private companies. Most of them could not care less about the pple coming into the wic office for help. Dont kid yourself about government employees. Most are lousy at what they do, dont take pride in their work, and make the recipients life a beurocratic nightmare. For those of us who have low paying jobs and need and qualify for government aid and have to deal with these pple our sympathies lie elseware.

To the OP- I agree with you about giving it up. In the long run your really not saving much money anyway.

BinahYeteirah

Tue, Apr 20 2010, 2:09 pm

It is very simple to solve this problem, just allow people not to get the items that they do not want. I don't think an individual family assessment is necessary, but why should the program pay for items people are just going to toss or give away? This is how they do it in my state (I don't have to buy those items I won't use). The foods offered are pretty standard nationwide; the individual states simply have slightly different rules. Apparently, in NYS, you must buy every single item listed on your check, or get nothing.

To keep going with picky kids at dinnertime moshel, if your kids don't like green beans, does that mean they aren't allowed to have chicken, either? There's no option at dinnertime to have a bowl of cereal instead, but at least the kids will eat the chicken.

If someone doesn't use baby food jars, why shouldn't they leave those in the store and just pick up the gallon of milk that they do use? That doesn't cost anything extra in administration costs, yet saves money on the cost of the food provided. If the goal of the program is to raise the nutritional status of women, infants, and children from lower economic backgrounds, I'd think they'd rather people use at least some of the food offered, rather than becoming so frustrated with it that they simply drop out of the program.

BinahYeteirah

Tue, Apr 20 2010, 2:13 pm

Barbara wrote:

OTOH, the purpose of WIC is to ensure that young children who are at risk are able to receive proper nutrition. Allowing families to pick and choose what they receive doesn't meet that goal.

Why not? Isn't it better that a child eats the WIC cereal and milk, even if his family chooses not to get the peanut butter, than not have cereal, milk, and peanut butter all together?

HindaRochel

Tue, Apr 20 2010, 2:21 pm

Government program and well run don't go hand in hand do they?
Anyway, it could be done by having a weight-watcher type system, where you could choose anything from a list, A, B, C, D etc.

ie, X amount of protein, which could be met by between y to z amount of eggs, peanut butter, cheese or whatever. Person can mix and match. One could combine. (cheese could be for both milk and protein. So as long as you were buying within the cost of X milk and X protein you'd be okay.

HindaRochel

Tue, Apr 20 2010, 2:35 pm

BinahYeteirah wrote:

HindaRochel wrote:

Government program and well run don't go hand in hand do they?

I am happy with WIC in my state. It is easy and stress-free for me.

On the other hand, I don't really consider juice or most boxed cereals to be healthy foods, but whatever, they are apparently considered nutritious according to someone. LOL

Do you live in a small area? I think you mentioned it somewhere but I forget.

I know WIC, section 8 housing etc. etc. work better in some areas then others. I am guessing that they work better in a smaller area, but that is a guess. I would be interested in seeing a study on the issue.

A friend of mine who had 2 small children, single parent, on welfare, etc etc. explained that life for her was pretty good where she had been living. The apartment was nice, clean, fairly large, the money sufficient for her basic needs. They didn't have a lot of toys or extras; she waited till the end of the month to buy anything like a toy for the children or whatever, but life wasn't bad for her.

She had been living in Ithaca.

So I wonder what about a specific area makes these programs function better than in other areas. Just the size of the area covered? The number of people covered? The type of place (urban, rural, college town etc.)?