by Rannika from Illinois
My name is Ranikka, and I am a mother of two, a sixteen-year-old and a two-year-old. I work and go to school. I have been a part of the WIC program since my two-year-old son was born.
I like to use my WIC benefits as a part of my weekly grocery shopping. I set up a weekly spending amount. I meal plan and when my WIC benefits come on, I incorporate the WIC into that weekly budget and meal plan. This includes checking the app, looking at my benefits and making a list of all the things I will get with my benefits. This also helps me save on my weekly budget and spread my monthly food budget out.
I like to go to the stores that allow you to use your benefits at self-checkouts. When I shop with my WIC, I use the app to scan all the items I am buying, and that way I know for sure the items I plan to buy are covered. When I am checking out, I scan all WIC items first to ensure that I remember to get my card out and swipe it first. I place all my forms of payment in order of use with my cash or credit payment being last. This way I am discreet in my payment as well as efficient to avoid using the wrong form of payment first.
I use all the benefits monthly in my meals. The beans benefits are great because there are a variety of beans to use, as well as a variety of cheeses you can buy to use in different types of recipes. I also buy all my son’s milk at once because it is one percent milk, and the expiration lasts about two weeks. This helps me avoid running out of milk. The fruit and vegetable benefits come in frozen, fresh, canned, or cups. I like to buy a vegetable for every dinner and use some of the benefits to buy fruit cups for my son's snacks. If there is ever an issue that I struggle with transportation to the grocery store, I will ask for a ride to a store that takes WIC to reduce the trip down to one store. Walmart is a great source to shop in one place and use your benefits with a great variety of options to choose from.
About Rannika. . .
Ranikka is a mother of two, a sixteen-year-old and a two-year-old. She works and goes to school.
In this week's guest post, Ranikka shares how she maximizes her WIC benefits. Another way to maximize your benefits is using wichealth. Our website is just one of the benefits of being part of the WIC community. We encourage you to check out one of over 50 lessons today. Head to wichealth.org and browse for topics that interest you. We can't wait to see you there!
