PLATTSBURGH — The Clinton County Health Department is offering free supermarket tours for participants of the county's WIC program.
Shopping Matters is an educational program designed to help low-income families who utilize the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program make healthy and affordable shopping choices.
During tours at local grocery stores, participants practice key food-shopping skills such as buying fruits and vegetables on a budget, comparing unit prices, reading food labels and identifying whole grains.
"In participant satisfaction surveys we've done, 99 percent of the people surveyed said they felt they had a good idea of how to use their WIC checks," said Mandy Snay, public health nutritionist for the Health Department. "But at the same time, 50 percent of the respondents said that cashiers had told them they were doing something wrong.
"We felt an educational program focusing on shopping techniques would help improve their confidence in using WIC checks."
Participants in the WIC program receive funding for the purchase of nutritional food products, including infant cereal, iron-fortified adult cereal, vitamin C-rich fruit or vegetable juice, eggs, milk, cheese, peanut butter, dried and canned beans or peas, and canned fish.
Soy-based beverages, tofu, fruits and vegetables, baby foods, whole-wheat bread, and other whole-grain options were recently added to better meet the nutritional needs of WIC participants.
Pregnant women up to six months after the birth of their child who meet certain guidelines are eligible, along with children up to 5 who are at nutritional risk.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the federal WIC program, characterizes nutritional risk in two categories: medically based and dietary. Medically based risk includes such health issues as anemia, underweight, overweight, a history of pregnancy complications and poor pregnancy outcomes. Dietary risks are those that fail to meet dietary guidelines or inappropriate nutrition practices.
WIC families are required to meet with counselors on a regular basis, but participants can use an upcoming appointment to one of the area's grocery stores with a WIC representative to participate in the shopping activity.
"It's a great opportunity for participants to learn more about the nutritional value of eligible foods," Snay said. "It will also be a benefit for the stores who may be having trouble with clients using the checks incorrectly."
One aspect of the shopping program is to tour the stores in search of the best nutritional values, including comparing unit prices to find the best options with the best costs, Snay noted.
It will also help participants recognize the variety of food items that are available to them.
"People are hesitant to try new things," Snay said, noting that whole-grain products were recently added to the WIC items, but people are more comfortable picking up food items they've always purchased rather than looking for new items. "Hopefully, by catching up with them in the market, we can open up more opportunities for them.
"They don't want to have a problem when they cash out, so they pick up what they feel more comfortable with. We want them to know that more variety is available."
Shopping tours will last between 45 and 60 minutes. Two WIC staff members will be assigned to each tour, with eight to 10 families booked for each tour.
Participants will receive a free workbook filled with tasty recipes and simple tips on buying healthy, low-cost foods and a free shopping bag and calculator.
Email Jeff Meyers at: jmeyers@pressrepublican.com
