Debit Cards Becoming Standard For WIC Food Assistance Program

The Woman Infants and Children program is the latest food assistance program in Wisconsin to go paperless.

Wisconsin’s most widely recognized food assistance program, FoodShare, already uses something similar to a debit card to deliver benefits. Now, WIC is also going paperless: The program started using electronic benefit transfer this spring on a limited basis.

The debit-like cards are gradually replacing paper checks across the state. Sue Marshall, public health supervisor for Dane County’s WIC program, said the conversion to debit cards is a process.

“For the next couple of months, we will be transitioning people as they come in … to pick up more benefits or for their clinic appointment,” she said. “In the meantime, stores are able to take both paper checks and the new (electronic benefits transfer) card.”

The Wisconsin Grocers Association supports the new system. Grocers say the old, paper method was prone to errors that affected retailer’s bottom line.

Michelle Kussow, vice president of government affairs and communications for the association, said the electronic benefit cards will cut down on errors.

“Some people would be eligible for milk and some not,” she said. “Sometimes, it was specific brands as in baby formula and it would be the cashier’s responsibility to cross check all the items they were scanning.”

The state has gradually been switching WIC users from paper to electronic benefits, going county by county, since spring. Southeast Wisconsin will be the last area to get the new cards in August.

WIC benefits are limited to certain foods and cashiers didn’t always ring items up correctly. All Wisconsin’s counties are expected to be using the electronic benefit transfer cards for WIC by fall.