Programs

Women Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Support

MCD Public Health (MCDPH) provided staffing support for the Maine CDC Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Programs including the Farmers' Market Nutrition Program; the WIC Vendor Management Program; as well as contracting policy writers to edit and revise WIC training and policy documents and assist with the development of the WIC annual state plan. For many years, MCDPH also provided a Nutritionist, computer program consultant and IT support for the program. This project was funded from April 1, 2009 to September 30, 2015.

Maine WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program:

This program was responsible for ensuring Maine WIC participants (pregnant women, babies and young children) have access to good, locally grown fruits and vegetables; Gathering participant feedback via surveys, evaluating and analyzing data, and making suggestions based on results; Assuring farmer database (contact information, market locations, days/times) is up-to-date and accurate to share with WIC participants; Monitoring farmers (overtly and covertly) to ensure compliance with program rules, policies and procedures (i.e., proper transactions, signage posted, anti-discrimination); Customary state-wide travel

WIC Vendor Management Program:

MCDPH staff provided several levels of service to this program. They included:

• The formatting and filing of the Annual Report to the USDA
  • Preparing an index of appendices
  • Cataloging changes from the previous year in preparation for next year's filing
• Physical audits of Peer C Vendors (privately owned grocery and convenience stores)
  • Preparing and uploading report to Spirit (WICs database)
  • Preparing audit/monitoring reports for review and violation notification to vendors
  • Analyzing data gathered in monitoring and audit visits; receipts of WIC purchases, and WIC checks
• Analyzing data gathered by Food Price Survey's that are gathered Quarterly by Vendors, determining where they are charging more or less than what WIC requires
• Preparing a mass mailing for Vendors in preparation of a USDA change in pricing
• Preparing combined data of eWIC survey’s from Vendors with Spirit information, and attendance at eWIC training to determine who needs equipment for the eWIC change over
• Updating monitoring and renewal reports from Farmers Markets for season 2014 to Spirit and files
• Re-organizing over 500 Peer C and Peer A (Corporate Stores) vendor files for auditing
• Attending eWIC training that was mandatory for all WIC Vendors in the State of Maine in preparation of the pilot site, with State Wide eWIC in October of 2015
• Entering in all Renewal Vendor applications, contacting vendors that have not submitted renewal applications, and sending out new vendor agreements

WIC State Plan Project:

MCDPH services include compiling and editing the program's annual state plan as well as documenting changes to the program's policies. The state plan is submitted in August of every year to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the federal agency that administers WIC.

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