The Whitman County Public Health website has a stark message at the top, saying its WIC program ‘’hopes to have sufficient funds to remain open until the end of October.’’
The federal government is still shut down, and that’s affecting national programs like WIC, a program that provides food and nutrition help to mothers and children up to five years old.
Without federal funding, WCPH director Chris Skidmore said the local WIC program that serves the Pullman area will shut down.
“ I think there's a lot of despair in a lot of our clients because, at the same time, a lot of the other resources that they could, you know, take advantage of are also being cut,” Skidmore said.
It's estimated that about 2.4 million people may no longer have access to SNAP food benefits under new rules signed into law by the Trump administration this summer. Skidmore worries that people who lose access to WIC benefits might not be able to get help through the SNAP program, either.
“Our partners at the Community Action Center do a lot around here, getting food out to needy families,” said Skidmore.”But they’re also pretty stressed in terms of demand for food.”
Local food banks and pantries are struggling to keep up with demand, already, he said.
Washington’s WIC program serves over 212,000 people each year, according to the state's department of health.
