NM WIC Program Critical To Needy New Mexicans
Sarah Flores-Sievers, Family Food & Nutrition Section Chief

Welcome to 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.

The vision of the New Mexico WIC Program is to have a major impact on improving health outcomes for clients, to be recognized as a national leader, and to achieve excellent satisfaction as viewed by the clients and the general public. Everything that we do at NM WIC is directed toward achieving those goals because we know that every time a family gets proper health care or learns how to better care for their family, our state becomes a better place for all of us.

For that reason, NM WIC constantly strives to serve our clients as efficiently and effectively as possible and to deliver the highest quality services in the nation with integrity and respect. WIC is a 100 percent federally funded nutrition and health program. Most WIC families are employed with incomes at or below 185 percent of the poverty level (currently $42,642 for a family of four).

WIC is designed to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk by providing nutrition education, breastfeeding support, supplemental nutritious foods that reinforce healthy eating to improve birth outcomes, prevent obesity, referrals to health and social programs during the critical stages of fetal and early childhood development and improve overall health in a supportive environment. The program is designed to provide temporary assistance during those brief periods in life that may become more challenging: during pregnancy, the birth of a newborn or having a young child with nutrition and/or health conditions.

The WIC Program has earned the reputation of being one of the most successful federally funded nutrition programs in the United States. The results of studies conducted by non-government entities prove that WIC is one of the nation’s most successful and cost-effective nutrition-intervention programs. Every dollar spent on pregnant women enrolled in WIC produces $1.92 to $4.21 in Medicaid savings for newborns and their mothers. New Mexico WIC serves half of all newborn babies born in the state.

Our 200 staff members at 50 permanent clinic sites and 35 satellite clinics around the state served 61,000 New Mexicans in 2011-2012.

If you have any questions about our services or suggestions about how we can improve our program, please email me at sarah.flores-siever@state.nm.us  I look forward to hearing from you as we work together to make New Mexico a healthier place for all.

NM WIC Director,
Sarah Flores-Sievers