Maine WIC Nutrition Program

Maine WIC gives healthy food, nutrition education, breastfeeding and lactation support, and health referrals. It serves people who are pregnant or lactating, or who had a baby in the last six months, plus infants and children up to age five, including adopted and foster children. WIC is open to anyone living in Maine who has a nutritional need. To start, contact the state WIC program by phone at (207) 287-3991 or 1-800-437-9300, by email, or through the online contact form, and a WIC staff member calls you back to set up an appointment. There is no cost to take part, and applying does not affect any other benefits you already receive.

The income line is set at 185 percent of the poverty guidelines. You qualify on income if your family earns at or below that level. Because 185 percent sits above the cutoff for many other programs, a working family that earns too much for food stamps may still qualify for WIC. The threshold is updated each year when new poverty guidelines take effect. That higher limit is one reason many working parents who assume they earn too much are surprised to find they qualify.

There is a shortcut through the income test. If you already get MaineCare, SNAP, or TANF, you are automatically income-eligible for WIC. That is called adjunctive eligibility, and it means you do not have to prove your income a second time when you already have one of those programs. In that case, showing your current benefit is enough to meet the income part of the WIC application.

WIC is more than a food list. It provides nutritious foods, nutrition education to help you plan healthy meals, lactation support for new parents, and referrals that connect you to other health services. The mix of food and support is meant to help families get the nutrition young children need during the years that matter most. Many families are surprised by how much the program covers, since it pairs specific healthy foods with one-on-one help from staff who answer questions about feeding a young child.

Anyone can help a child apply. A parent, guardian, or caregiver can apply on a child's behalf, and guardians and foster parents may apply for the eligible children in their care. So a grandparent or a foster parent raising a young child can set up WIC for that child. That flexibility helps kinship families and foster families make sure a young child does not miss out on healthy food and support.

Come to the appointment ready and stack your help. Maine WIC runs through seven regional local agencies serving different counties, and any of them can help you. WIC adds to the grocery budget but does not replace it, so a household can hold both WIC and SNAP, and a pregnancy is also a good time to apply for MaineCare. If you are not sure which of the seven regional agencies serves you, the state WIC office can point you to the right one when you call.