Health Department

WIC is for women who are pregnant or had a baby in the last six months; breastfeeding women who had a baby in the last twelve months; infants; and children up to the age of five, including adopted and foster children. Fathers may apply for their children. Knox County WIC serves residents of Knox and the surrounding counties. You must meet income guidelines to qualify for WIC services. Check the income guidelines for your family to see if you qualify.

You can also use the WIC Prescreening Tool to see if you might be eligible for WIC.

WIC income guidelines are higher than most people think. For example, a family of four can earn about $51,000 per year and qualify for WIC. Check the income guidelines for your family to see if you qualify.

WIC income guidelines are automatically met if (1) you or anyone in your household receives SNAP (formerly called Food Stamps) benefits, or if (2) you are pregnant and enrolled in TennCare; or your child is currently enrolled in TennCare.

WIC offers many benefits to families who qualify for services:

Healthy food

Each participant receives specific foods to help meet individual nutrition needs. These are issued as electronic benefits accessed with a TN WIC card which you will receive during your WIC certification.

• Food lists for Tennessee WIC-eligible foods

Breastfeeding support

All pregnant women will learn about breastfeeding and the support services that WIC has in place to help new moms meet their individual breastfeeding goals.

Nutrition education

At least twice per year, participants get to talk one-on-one with a nutrition educator about the food they eat and how to incorporate healthy habits into their lifestyles. Nutrition education is also offered in a fun group setting where families learn from each other or with brief, online education that can be viewed from any device with an internet connection. The nutrition educator can explain these options in more detail.

Growth checks

Growth checks make sure our moms, babies, and children are growing well – not too fast or slow. A simple blood test checks iron status to make sure participants are eating enough important nutrients to stay healthy. We will measure participants in our office during the appointment, or participants may bring referral measures from their healthcare providers.

Referrals to additional services

WIC is well connected in the community and wants to make sure your family is too. From doctors and dentists to additional resources like food, car seats, and cribs, you can talk to us about your family’s needs. We will do our best to match you with a community resource that address your concerns.

Knox Breastfriends Group and Facebook page

 A mother-to mother breastfeeding support group for moms (and moms-to-be) and their children. Mothers value sharing experience with other mothers to help overcome barriers and for positive support and encouragement when concerns arise. Breastfeeding support helps mothers achieve their breastfeeding goals.  

Peer Counseling 

WIC breastfeeding peer counselors have a dramatic impact on helping a mother reach her breastfeeding goals because they give new mothers what they need most, a trusted friend who has been there.

A breastfeeding peer counselor with the USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and children (WIC) is a paraprofessional who:

• Has personal breastfeeding experience;
• Has been carefully selected by WIC and trained in basic breastfeeding techniques and counseling skills;
• Gives basic breastfeeding information and support to new mothers;
• Desires to help mothers achieve their own breastfeeding goals;
• Provides basic breastfeeding information and support for WIC mothers;
• Contacts mothers regularly during pregnancy, the early days of breastfeeding, and until the mother chooses to wean her baby.
• Refers mothers with concerns outside the peer counselor’s scope of practice to appropriate lactation experts or health care professionals.

Enhanced Food Benefits

Mothers who exclusively breastfeed receive more variety and larger quantities of foods on their WIC food package, and infants who are exclusively breastfed receive larger quantities and more types of baby food at 6 months of age.

Trained Staff

All WIC staff complete USDA’s Grow and Glow training to achieve breastfeeding competencies for WIC clinics. WIC staff include many Certified Lactation Counselors and an IBCLC.

WIC Loaner Breast Pump Program

Breastfeeding mothers may receive breast pumps and other aides to help support the initiation and continuation of breastfeeding.

Community Breastfeeding Resources: Brochure that outlines the types of support that are available locally to breastfeeding mothers.

Tennessee Breastfeeding Hotline: 1-855-423-6667

Additional links:

• Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, and COVID-19 Guidance
• Strong Baby Knox
• TN.gov Breastfeeding
• WomensHealth.gov Breastfeeding
• CDC.gov Breastfeeding
• Healthy Children Breastfeeding  
• La Leche League: Mother to Mother support
• LactMed: Drugs and Lactation Database
• Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine
• The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding
• World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
• UNICEF: Global Breastfeeding Advocacy

To schedule an appointment call 865-215-5016, for Spanish call 865-215-5418. For the hearing impaired (TDD) call 865-215-5001.

We value your time: when phone lines are busy, call 865-215-5016 or 865-215-5030 and leave a voicemail message, tell us who you are and the best number to reach you. We return calls every afternoon that we are open.

Or you can send an email. Send us your phone number and we’ll call you to schedule your appointment within the same or next business day.

WIC appointments are currently being done over the phone. Please call 865-215-5030 with any questions you have.

There are a few types of WIC appointments, so let us try to explain each one individually.

• Certification
• Mid Certification
• Follow-Up Nutrition

• Bear in mind that a family may have individuals with various appointment types all on the same day. For example, Mom and baby might need to be certified when your older child has a follow-up visit. We make every effort to keep families scheduled together to make efficient use of your time. In this example, the family is not eligible for Quick WIC or Fast Pass because we need to see Mom and baby in our office, and we will talk about the older child during that visit.

Certification

Certification for the WIC Program happens annually for each participant in your family. This appointment type requires the most time.  Let’s walk through it:

Welcome to clinic!

1) Sign in the names of each family member with an appointment at the front desk and have a seat. Please have your proofs of eligibility (see “What do I need to bring to my WIC appointment?” answer above for proofs of eligibility) ready and listen for your name to be called. The clerical staff will call you up and ask for your proofs. She will then ask you to sign a statement that your information is accurate and a privacy agreement. She will also ask if you are registered to vote and provide an opportunity for you to register. The USDA, which funds the WIC Program, requires us to ask these questions.

• If individuals within a family are on different certification schedules, you will need to show your proofs more than once per year. For example, if your son was certified in June and your daughter was certified in September, you will show proof each June and each September for your children to continue on the program.

2) Next, we will call you in to the lab:

• Children and women will be weighed and measured without shoes.
• Infants and toddlers need to be undressed and wearing only a dry diaper in order to be weighed and measured.
• We will measure iron by collecting a small drop of blood.

We can also accept measures from your child’s medical office. Measures must include weight, height or length, and hemoglobin or hematocrit. They need to be recent (dated within 60 days) and signed by the health care provider. A referral measures form is available from our office.

3) You will receive a questionnaire to complete. This will help guide your conversation with the nutrition educator.

4) The nutrition educator will invite you to her office and talk with you about any food questions you have and how to shop for WIC food in the grocery stores. The nutrition educator can also tell you about other resources in the community that may help meet your family’s needs.

Your conversation with the nutrition educator will wrap up once you’ve set a nutrition goal. Goals are a great way to focus on one thing you can improve – whether it’s more time with family meals or just helping your child try one new food, the educators can help you plan one small change to help keep you and your children healthy.

5) The last stop is to schedule your return appointment and your visit is complete!

Mid-Certification

The mid-certification visit is approximately 6 months after certification. Your visit will be similar to the certification visit except we do not need to see your proof of eligibility. We do need to see how much your child has grown, so you will visit the lab. You are also welcome to bring referral measures to this visit.

You don’t need to complete the questionnaire again, but you will have a conversation with the nutrition educator. At this visit she will ask you about the goal you set at the certification visit and you can talk about your progress. We are also happy to address any other questions you have about food, the WIC program, or your child’s eating behavior.

Follow-Up Nutrition

The follow up appointments occur around the three month point between the certification and mid-certification. WIC appointments are usually made every three months, so every other appointment will be a follow-up visit. For this visit, you don’t need to bring proofs or measures. We just want to check in with you and see how you’re doing.

To make this appointment even easier, we offer group education in Quick WIC or online education with Fast Pass. Both of these options should be discussed with your nutrition educator.

• Fast Pass:  Need a more flexible option for nutrition education? Go online!
  
  During your certification or mid-certification appointment, WIC staff will provide the information you need to create an account atwww.WIChealth.org and give you an appointment in the month of your last set of benefits. All you do is go online and complete one lesson within 30 days of your next appointment. This Fast Pass appointment is just a phone call! No need to come in to the WIC office. WIC Staff will verify your completed lesson, issue more benefits, and call you to schedule your next appointment.

Online nutrition education for Tennessee WIC is at http://www.wichealth.org

Tennessee WIC has a contract with Abbott Nutrition to provide Similac formulas for our participants. If mom is not providing breastmilk, milk-based formula is the recommended food for infants under one year of age.

We can provide Similac Advance (milk-based) or Similac Isomil (soy-based) formula without a doctor’s note if no other product has been requested. We can also provide Similac Sensitive, Similac Total Comfort, or Similac for Spit-Up with a simple request form. With the shortage of formula across the state, we have created a list of some formula options and substitutions, click here to view.

In order to provide any other formula, we need a WIC Qualifying Condition listed on the Request Form. Your health care provider can fax it to our office (865-215-5064) or you may bring it to your next appointment. The requested product must be listed on the Tennessee WIC formulary and its use must meet guidelines set by the USDA and the state of Tennessee in order for us to provide it. WIC dietitians evaluate the requests to ensure they meet program guidelines. If you or your doctor have any other questions, please see the health care provider section of the Tennessee WIC website or contact our Nutrition Director at 865-215-5052.

WIC appointments are being done over the phone. WIC is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

* We open at 10:30 a.m. on the first Wednesday of each month to allow for staff training. WIC is closed on all Knox County government holidays.

WIC foods are purchased at grocery stores, large and small, that display signs saying, “Authorized WIC Vendor – Tennessee WIC”. Your WIC benefits can be spent only at the approved stores. Click here for a list of authorized vendors in Knox County. 

1. Before shopping, check your TN WIC balance with one of the following tips:
   1. Go online! Create your account at www.WICConnect.com with the “Cardholders” feature. This will allow you to view your current balance anytime.
   2. Call the number on the back of your card. They will read your balance to you.
   3. Ask the store to print a copy of your balance. They will need to swipe your card to do this for you.
   4. Keep your receipts from your WIC shopping trips. Your remaining balance and the date your current benefits expire will print near the bottom of the receipt each time you shop with your card.
2. Know your PIN for using your TN WIC card.
3. Take your TN WIC “Approved Food” List with you to the store.
   1. Infants English Spanish
   2. Women & Children English Spanish
4. Select your correct WIC-approved items.
   1. Double check food type and package size matches your benefits.
5. At checkout, you can let the cashier scan all your groceries. You do not need to separate the WIC foods or mention this is a WIC transaction.
   1. To pay, always swipe your WIC card first! 
   2. Enter your PIN.
   3. A redemption receipt will print. You may review it to check that all your WIC items will be paid for by WIC.
   4. When you are satisfied with the redemption receipt, choose “confirm” on the keypad.
   5. Pay for any remaining balance with SNAP or other form of payment.
6. Need help at the store? Text or call the WIC Lady SOS at 865-679-2941
   1. This service is available from 8 am to 4:30 pm (excluding weekends and holidays).
   2. After hours? Send us a photo of your receipt and we’ll be in touch when we’re back in the office.

• 865-215-5016 (Schedule Appointment)
• 865-215-5418 (Información en español)
• 865-215-5030 (Information/Questions)
  • Leave a message for a return call; our staff returns calls every afternoon for messages that are left at this number
• WIC administrative staff:
  • 865-215-5048: WIC Director
  • 865-215-5052: Nutrition Director
  • 865-215-5060: Breastfeeding Coordinator
  • 865-215-5050: Vendor Coordinator
• 865-215-5064 (fax)

• email

To contact the Tennessee WIC State office in Nashville by phone, call 1-800-DIAL WIC (1-800-342-5942)

Additional WIC Program information is available online at www.tn.gov/health/health-program-areas/fhw/wic.html or at fns.usda.gov/wic/

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