How To Apply For WIC In South Carolina

Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, also know as WIC, is a program that is designed to help low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children 5 years old or younger who are at nutritional risk. The South Carolina WIC program accomplishes this by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information that can help provide healthy eating options including breastfeeding, and referrals to health care. If you are looking to know how to apply for WIC in South Carolina, then read the information provided below.

How to Apply For South Carolina WIC
Call 1-800-868-0404 to make an appointment. WIC has day, evening, and Saturday appointments available. WIC even has walk-in hours! Remember, please bring the family members applying for WIC services to the appointment (you, your child and/or your infant). If the appointment is for a child, only a parent or legal caretaker who lives with the child can bring the child and complete the paperwork.

Who is WIC for?
WIC is a free program that provides healthy foods and nutrition and health services to South Carolina families who qualify. WIC is for all types of families: married and single parents, working or not working. If you are a father, mother, grandparent, foster parent, or other legal guardian of a child under 5, you can apply for WIC for your child. If you currently receive Medicaid, TANF, or SNAP, you already meet the income eligibility requirements. To qualify for WIC services, participants must:

• Meet the income guidelines
• Be a child under 5, a new mom, or a pregnant or breastfeeding mom
• Live in South Carolina
• Have a nutritional need that can be helped by WIC food and nutritional counseling

WIC Income Eligibility Guidelines

Your First Appointment
Remember, please bring the family members applying for WIC services to the appointment. (This may be you, your child and/or your infant). If the appointment is for a child, only a parent or legal caretaker who lives with the child can bring the child and complete the paperwork.

Proof Of Identity
You must bring at least one form of identification (ID) for yourself and one form of ID for your infant or child who is applying for WIC. Here are the IDs that WIC accepts:

Adult Applicants, Parents and Caretakers – Acceptable IDs

• Driver's license
• Valid ID card with photo
• Current bill with name on it
• Current insurance card/policy
• Active Medicaid card or notice of eligibility
• Valid passport
• U.S. military identification
• Valid Social Security card
• Marriage license
• School ID or record
• Voter registration card
• S.C. state-issued ID with photo
• Recent paycheck/pay stub
• S.C. beginner's permit
• Current S.C. WIC ID card (must be currently participating in WIC program)

Infants and Children – Acceptable IDs

• Birth certificate
• Valid Social Security card
• Foster child placement letter/notice
• School ID or record
• Active S.C. Medicaid card or notice of eligibility
• Infant's hospital ID bracelet
• Hospital birth card (crib card)
• Current S.C. WIC ID card
• Hospital footprint card with name

Proof Of Residency
You must also bring in one item that proves where you live. The item must show your street address. (No P.O. Box numbers will be accepted.)

Proof of Residency Documents that WIC Accepts

• South Carolina driver's license
• Car registration
• Bank statement
• WIC appointment letter (with street address)
• Mortgage or rental agreement
• Valid ID card with photo
• Pay stub or military leave and earnings statement (LES) with address
• Recent bill
• Voter registration card
• School record
• S.C. beginner's permit
• Tax document
• Letter from a reliable third party (such as a social worker, landlord, etc.) confirming your address

Proof Of Income
You must bring in proof of all income for every person living in your home.

Some of the Proofs that WIC Accepts

• Active Medicaid card or notice of eligibility
• SNAP notice of eligibility (An EBT card is not considered acceptable proof)
• TANF notice of eligibility
• Most recent pay stub
• Regular cash contributions: bring a signed/dated letter from any person (not living in the household) who regularly contributes income to the household
• Unemployment letter/notice or Workers' Compensation letter
• Recent leave and earnings statement (LES) for military personnel
• Foster child placement letter/foster parent award letter showing the amount received for foster care
• Court order or divorce decree showing alimony and/or child support
• Self-employment – Recent 1040 ES quarterly tax form or company account books (records) or 1040 form for the past year.
• W-2 forms or income tax return for the most recent calendar year
• Signed statement (to include the name of company, address, and telephone number) from employer indicating gross earning for a specific time period (such as weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly)

What happens once I'm approved?

• You'll receive personalized nutritional counseling
• Our professional WIC staff will assign you a food package that provides participant-specific nutritious foods (milk, cheese, cereal, fruit juice, eggs, beans, whole grains, fresh/frozen fruits and vegetables, complementary foods, and formula for infants) in quantities that meet your needs. The food package assigned to breastfeeding mothers provides the largest variety and amounts of foods
• You'll be able to get these foods by using checks we'll give you. You can redeem the checks in WIC-approved grocery stores and Farmers' Markets
• You will be WIC-certified for a set length of time according to the following guidelines:
  • Pregnant women are certified for the length of their pregnancy and up to six weeks postpartum
  • Postpartum women are certified until six months after delivery
  • Breastfeeding women are certified as long as they are breastfeeding or until their breastfed infants' first birthday
  • Infants are certified until their first birthday
  • Children are certified for one-year periods, up until the end of the month in which they turn 5 years old
• You'll receive nutrition education. This is an important part of the WIC program. We will offer both individual and group education sessions throughout your certification period.