Making WIC Work for Multicultural Communities - Food Research ...

Washington WIC
The Washington State WIC agency has a comprehensive
multicultural and multilingual outreach strategy designed to
reach diverse families across the state. Through multilingual
outreach materials and activities, the Nutrition Program
Outreach Project has welcomed many new families to the
Washington State WIC program. The WIC African American
Outreach Project, focused on positive messages disseminated
through media and other channels in the community, has been
successful in increasing the participation of African American
families. This work is done through a public/private
partnership with WithinReach, a nonprofit organization working
to improve maternal, child and family health in Washington
State.
Agency Name
• Washington Department of Health, WIC Nutrition Program
for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
Project Name
Washington State WIC Nutrition Program Outreach Project
Project Description
Washington developed numerous culturally appropriate outreach materials and resources to increase
eligible families’ access to WIC services. The project includes outreach materials in 11 languages, a
statewide family health hotline with bi-lingual operators, an online WIC clinic search tool and an
interactive website where families apply for state-sponsored health and nutrition services.
Outreach Materials
Messaging: Outreach materials are worded to overcome barriers and encourage people to apply. Most of
the materials include the following information:
• WIC income guidelines because many people do not realize they are eligible.
• WIC services and the value of the WIC foods as an incentive for applying.
• The message “It’s easy to apply. It just takes a phone call. WIC even takes care of the
paperwork.” This is based on information from focus groups on what would encourage
people to apply and overcome perceived barriers.
• The statement “Getting WIC does not affect your immigration status.” so immigrants are not
afraid to apply.
• The address and phone numbers of local WIC clinics for the county. These are printed on
the back of the flyers.
• The toll free, statewide WithinReach Family Health Hotline number
Materials: The Washington State WIC Nutrition Program and WithinReach developed and disseminated
the following multilingual outreach materials:
• WIC outreach flyers in 11 languages including English, Spanish, Chinese, Somali, Amharic,
Tigrinya, Vietnamese, Korean, Ukrainian, Russian, and Arabic.
• A four-language outreach flyer in English, Spanish, Russian, and Vietnamese.
• Counter cards in both English and Spanish that encourage WIC clients to tell their friends and
families about the WIC program.
Making WIC Work for Multicultural Communities: Best Practices in Outreach and Nutrition Education 19