Some 4,100 women and children in south Snohomish County will begin getting nutrition services at the Snohomish Health District’s Lynnwood offices beginning Tuesday.
The new Lynnwood office for the Women Infants and Children program will have a seven-member staff, said Suzanne Pate, health district spokeswoman. The office is at 6101 200th St. SW, Suite 100.
Women and children affected by the change have been notified, said Cathy Franklin, a nutrition coordinator with the state Department of Health.
WIC provides milk, juice, eggs, cheese, peanut butter and other high-nutrition foods to low-income pregnant and nursing women, new mothers and children up to age 5. Nearly 63 percent are working families.
The opening of the Lynnwood office is part of a shake-up in how the nutrition program is being run in Snohomish County. Changes began last year.
In September, women and children in the Everett area began receiving services through the health district’s Rucker Avenue offices.
The public health agency will serve about 9,100 clients at its Everett and Lynnwood offices, Franklin said. It has a $1.03 million contract to run the program.
Pregnancy Aid, a nonprofit organization, had run the program countywide since the 1970s. That organization will continue to provide services in Arlington, Granite Falls, Marysville, Monroe and Snohomish, serving about 4,000 clients, Franklin said. Its contract to serve clients in these areas is for $458,000.
The reorganization of the nutrition program has opened the way to serve an additional 4,000 women and children, she said. Part of the growth in the program is extending nutrition services for children from age 3 to age 5, Franklin said.
Pregnancy Aid and the health district have worked closely to ensure a smooth transition, Franklin said.
“I give them high marks for all this,” she said. “They really did the best they could for the clients.”
Aislinn James, WIC coordinator for Pregnancy Aid of Snohomish County, said her agency will work to find people who may qualify for the program but aren’t signed up.
It also will spend the next several months considering whether to continue operating all its offices in Arlington, Granite Falls, Marysville, Monroe and Snohomish.
“We believe there is a need in those communities,” she said. “Right now, we’re staying.”
Reporter Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.
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