NM WIC Program Critical To Needy New Mexicans
Deanna Torres, Family Food & Nutrition Section Chief

I am pleased to present the 2009 website for the New Mexico Department of Health, Women, Infants and Children’s Program (WIC), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) and the Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program.

Our mission is to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk—and reduce food insecurity statewide—by providing nutritious foods to supplement their diets, nutrition information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care providers.

At 110 clinic sites around the state, the WIC Program served 112,611 New Mexicans (6% of the population) from July 2005 to June 2006 and provided 740,000 monthly food benefit packages during the time period, through 244 authorized WIC grocers. During this time, the number of infants seen by WIC was 22,632, representing 60% of the infants born in New Mexico. In addition to providing participants with nutrition education and food benefits, WIC staff made nearly 60,000 referrals to health and social service programs.

The WIC Program encourages and supports mothers to breastfeed for at least the first full year of their babies’ lives. The clinic staff receives training in breastfeeding management so they can educate pregnant mothers and support breastfeeding mothers through individual counseling and group discussion sessions. New WIC mothers can view a wide selection of breastfeeding videos, receive breastfeeding literature, a breast pump or other breastfeeding aides and referral services if necessary. Also, nearly 31 clinics statewide now have Breastfeeding Peer Counselors, who are current or past WIC breastfeeding mothers that provide our WIC participants with individual mother-to-mother support through routine phone calls, home or hospital visits.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for visiting the New Mexico WIC website and invite you to visit often.

NM WIC Director,
Deanna Torres