What's Wrong With WIC

The most inefficient Federal assistance program has to be WIC. The program, itself, is designed to provide essential nutrition to infants, children and expectant mothers. The inefficiency does not lie with the program and its benefits. The inefficiency lies with the redemption of these benefits. As a former grocery store cashier, I know the redemption process intimately. The current redemption process angers many other grocery shoppers in that they are forced to wait longer in line to pay for their own grocery purchases. The current redemption process can be altered to a more efficient process for all concerned parties including the recipient, the cashier, and the other store patrons. The current redemption process requires one personality trait from all involved parties: patience.

Currently, the WIC recipient is issued one or more cards with specific items allowed to be purchased using WIC funds. Some of the allowable items include cereal, milk, cheese, and dry beans. I can't remember any other allowable WIC items but those are the most commonly purchased items. The recipient takes these cards to her local grocery store. The recipient has an allotted amount of each item she is allowed to purchase using WIC funds as stated on the cards. The recipient will gather her allotted items and proceed to the checkout register. She will present her WIC cards to the cashier for redemption. The cashier must ring each item individually and obtain a register total. The cashier must then hand write the total for this item in the space provided on the card. This process is repeated for each item on the card. There is generally a separate WIC card for dairy products, the cereals and the dry beans. Depending on how many items the recipient is purchasing, the total time spent with one customer could be as long as an hour. Of all the individuals inconvenienced by this process, it is debatable as to who is the most frustrated. I have been behind a WIC recipient in a checkout line. I have been the cashier waiting on the recipient. The recipient generally has small children with her when she shops. As with all small children, they can be restless when waiting for extended periods of time. The children don't care about the WIC process. All they care about is getting home and getting their naps or whatever is making them fuss. The customer behind the recipient would probably be waiting in line behind other shoppers with large, time consuming purchases. The cashier is on duty for hours after the recipient leaves the line. The most frustrated individual must be the recipient because she has to wait for her redemption transactions to finalize and entertain her restless children while she is waiting for the completion of the process.

The state of Texas issues a "Lone Star" card to all welfare and child support recipients. I'm sure other states have a similar card for welfare and child support payments. The "Lone Star" card is nothing more than a debit card for the recipient's use to access these additional benefits. This "Lone Star" card has replaced the old paper food stamps. Since funds are being spent to produce these plastic cards anyway, WIC benefits could be added to these cards as well as food stamps and child support benefits. Adding WIC to these cards would decrease wait time for all parties involved in the transaction. Adding WIC to these cards would guarantee the recipient receives the correct item. Many times, a WIC recipient will attempt to purchase a non-WIC approved item which holds up the lines even longer than usual.

If the current redemption process does not change, there are ways the grocery merchants can make the redemption process go more smoothly for all customers. Nearly every store has an express checkout lane for individuals with a few items so that they do not have to wait in a line behind someone with larger purchases. The same concept can be invented for WIC recipients. The stores could create a specific lane for WIC recipients only. This would make the lines go more smoothly for the recipient, the other grocery patrons and the cashier. As with all businesses, the comfort and convenience of all customers is not a main concern. These stores would not create a separate lane for WIC recipients only because this would force the stores to spend money hiring more cashiers. Creating jobs is a good thing if the merchants are willing to spend the money for these new jobs. I don't know of too many merchants willing to cut their own profits to make life easier for the people who provide the profits.

© Tammy L 2011