Q&A: What happens to WIC in West Virginia if the government stays shut down?

CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — As our nation hits the 12th day of the government shutdown, federally funded programs like WIC, which thousands of West Virginians use, are seeing their budgets dwindle.

12 News reached out to the West Virginia Department of Health for further clarification of how this shutdown will affect the program and those within it. The following is an interview with Department of Health Communications Director Gailyn Markham on the topic.

Q: How many families in the state utilize WIC?

A: The West Virginia Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) currently serves 34,224 people (22,884 households).

Q: How much funding is left for the state’s program? Based on these funds, do you have an estimated timeframe of how long WIC would be able to function before running out of money?

A: There is sufficient funding to operate the WV WIC Program through the end of October.

Q: What can families do if WIC does close?

A: There are food safety net resources specific to each community, which include food pantries, baby formula pantries, and family support centers.  That information can be found here: https://foodlink.wvu.edu/assistance.

Q: Are there any plans to pull funding from elsewhere?

A: West Virginia WIC is following federal guidance to maximize the use of all available funds to support WIC expenditures occurring in FFY2026, including the use of FFY2025 administrative funding reallocated to states by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and expedited payments from infant formula rebates. 

Additionally, the White House recently announced that it will use money from Section 232 tariff revenue to fund supplemental nutrition programs facing a funding shortage during this time; however, please note that this has not been formally communicated to the West Virginia WIC program by the USDA. 

Q: Why is this program too important to families that utilize it in West Virginia?

A: Thousands of mothers, pregnant women, and children in West Virginia rely on the WIC program for access to nutritious food, breastfeeding support, infant formula, nutrition education, and healthcare referrals. Nearly 75% of all infants born in WV are served by WIC.  Ultimately, WIC is the only public health nutrition program that improves health outcomes, supports early childhood development, reduces healthcare costs, empowers families, and addresses disparities in nutrition and health.