New Albany WIC office closing Dec. 31

The New Albany WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children) food service office will close Dec. 31. The last day participants may pick up food will be Nov. 25.

State officials announced this past week that New Albany is one of 13 centers closing.

They attribute the closing in part to the transition to a retail food system via an electronic benefit transfer (EBT) card. They say these food centers have low participant usage, or the landlord has chosen not to continue the lease.

The reason for New Albany cited was landlord request. The lease expires Sept. 30. The building on Carter Avenue had been owned by Journal Inc. of Tupelo, which offered it to the City of New Albany a few months ago. That’s after the city purchased the adjacent former Fred’s building and parking area.

Twelve food centers, including those located in Rosedale, Ruleville, Okolona, Ackerman, Hollandale, Leland, Raymond, Dekalb, Raleigh, Eupora, Columbus and Southaven are scheduled to close September 30. The food center located in New Albany is the only one scheduled to close December 31.

Food centers located in Rosedale, Ruleville, Okolona, Ackerman, Hollandale, Leland, Raymond, Dekalb and Raleigh are being closed due to low participant usage. In addition to New Albany food centers located in Eupora, Columbus and Southaven are being closed per landlord request, as these leases are scheduled to expire September 30.

“We are continuing to seek alternate locations in Columbus and Southaven,” said Diane Hargrove, Director of the MSDH WIC program. “We are also surveying WIC participants in New Albany and Eupora to determine unique ways to deliver food benefits and ensure access.”

The last date for WIC participants to pick up foods at the sites closing September 30 is August 28, and the last date for participants to pick up at the food center closing December 31 is November 25. However, participants are still eligible to pick up at any other food center they have access to in the state.

As the WIC program prepares to begin the transition from the use of paper food vouchers at food centers to the use of eWIC cards at retail grocery stores and pharmacies, it’s also working hard to ensure participants still have access to the supplemental foods they qualify for. The eWIC card will be piloted as early as January 2021.

“We know this will be a challenge for some of our participants and we are doing everything that we can to supply them nutritious foods the best way that we can during this transition,” said Jameshyia Ballard, WIC Vendor Director.

The goal of the WIC program is to provide nutrition education, breastfeeding support and supplemental food for eligible pregnant, post-partum and breastfeeding women, infants and children up to the age of 5. The MSDH WIC program is working to ensure participants have an available food center within 30 miles of each WIC clinic.