Arizona WIC, the state Women, Infants and Children program, provides healthy food, nutrition and breastfeeding support to qualifying women and children within the state. Your local WIC office— specialized clinics that handle the program’s applications—will determine your eligibility during a scheduled appointment. In addition to benefits only being available to select groups of individuals, benefit eligibility is also determined by residency, income and nutrition risk. It is strongly recommended that you learn more about the program’s eligibility requirements as well as how to best prepare for your appointment, including the documentation that you will need to provide at your appointment in order to qualify.

After applying for the WIC program, it is important to understand how benefits are distributed within the state, including how you can check your remaining benefits. By familiarizing yourself with benefits, you will know what to expect if your application is approved.

What are the WIC requirements in Arizona?

In order to determine WIC eligibility in Arizona, it is important to first familiarize yourself with the individuals who may be eligible to receive benefits from this program. WIC is for:

• Pregnant women.
• Women whose pregnancy ended less than six months prior to submitting an application.
• Breastfeeding women, until the infant’s first birthday.
• Infants.
• Children up to five years of age.

Further WIC qualifications must be met if you or your child is an individual that may be eligible for benefits, as shown above. Further qualifications include:

• That you are an Arizona resident.
• That you meet income requirements.
• That you or your child are considered at a nutritional risk due to medical or dietary conditions.

You can meet WIC eligibility requirements related to income automatically if you are already receiving assistance from another program such as SNAP (food stamps), Medicaid or TANF. Nutritional risk can be determined by medical based conditions such as underweight, a history of poor pregnancy and anemia, while dietary conditions refer to conditions generally caused by poor diet.

Even if AZ WIC qualifications are met, some counties within the state may have waiting lists or priority lists if the county does not have enough funding to provide assistance to everyone who is eligible. In cases such as these, priority is determined by a number of factors, such as medical based conditions, infants, breastfeeding women and pregnant women.

How to Apply for WIC in Arizona

You must contact your local WIC office in AZ if you wish to apply for benefits. At this time, WIC online applications are not available, nor can you submit an application by mail. If you wish to apply, it is important to contact your local clinic ahead of time in order to schedule your appointment as applications can only be submitted by appointment in Arizona.

For further details on the WIC application process in Arizona, download our comprehensive guide.

What can you get with WIC in Arizona?

WIC benefits primarily include a list of food items that can be purchased using a voucher in any participating store location throughout the state. However, additional benefits are available, including:

• Nutrition information.
• Referrals to other assistance programs, including medical and dental care, childcare and housing.
• Free immunizations and health screenings.
• Breastfeeding support and supplies.

WIC checks are primarily used to purchase approved food items. WIC funds vary greatly from food stamps as, unlike food stamps, this program is restricted to the type of food that you can obtain. Examples of the food items that can generally be received in exchange for a voucher include, but are not limited to:

• Eggs.
• Milk.
• Cereal.
• Juice.
• Cheese.
• Formula.
• Fruits and vegetables.
• Dried or canned beans.
• Peanut butter.
• Whole grain breads.
• Brown rice.
• Baby food.

Vouchers from WIC are distributed on a monthly basis.

How to Prepare for a WIC Appointment in Arizona

Now that you know how to apply for WIC in Arizona, it is important to plan ahead and prepare for your appointment at your local office. This appointment will not only provide you with additional information regarding the program but also determine whether or not you or your children are eligible to receive benefits.

When visiting your local WIC office for your scheduled appointment, it is crucial that you bring the documentation that will be requested in order to complete your application. This documentation includes:

• Proof of income.
• Proof of identification for yourself and any children that you are applying for, such as with birth certificates, Social Security cards or identification cards.
• Proof of pregnancy, if you are currently pregnant.

Be sure to visit the WIC office with your children that you are applying for when visiting for your scheduled appointment.

How to Check Your WIC Balance in Arizona

The easiest way to check your WIC balance in Arizona is through the use of the EzWIC app that is available on smart devices. This app will display the food items that are approved for the program as well as the ability to scan the barcodes of food items in order to review whether or not the item can be purchased. Through the use of the app, you can check your balance as well.

Get more information about checking your WIC balance by downloading our comprehensive guide.