Olmsted County WIC celebrates 50 years

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Olmsted County WIC celebrates 50 years

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(ABC 6 News) — Olmsted County’s Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) is celebrating 50 years of serving thousands of families in the community.

When the organization first started back in 1975, it had 41 participants. As of 2023, that number had grown to more than 4700 people per year.

The kinds of services it provides have evolved over time as well. It now provides electronic cards for buying healthy foods instead of the old paper vouchers and has helped promote breastfeeding among new moms through peer support.

The pop-up clinics have also made accessing those resources even easier.

“I am incredibly proud of the work that this program does, and I can picture the faces of people that we have served over the last several years and the impact that we’ve made on their lives,” said Services Manager Wendy O’Leary.

That includes people like Liz De la Cruz, a mother of five who not only works at the WIC program, but at one point was a user of the program’s resources.

“It’s a unique place to be, and I’ve taken those experiences and been able to better connect and relate to my clients. I love helping people and this is the best job to have to be able to help and give back,” De la Cruz said.

With 50 years behind it, WIC is looking to the future with more plans to expand into the community. It is also working alongside the Minnesota Department of Health piloting an online shopping service through Hy-Vee.