{"id":262826,"date":"2025-10-08T11:58:48","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T16:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=262826"},"modified":"2025-10-20T18:52:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T23:52:46","slug":"cronkite-news-food-program-set-to-run-out-of-money-following-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/10\/08\/cronkite-news-food-program-set-to-run-out-of-money-following-shutdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: Food program set to run out of money following shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Chickasaw<\/a>
Staff from the Women, Infants and Children program at the Chickasaw Nation Carl Albert Service Center in Ada, Oklahoma. Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n
Shutdown threatens nutrition aid for Arizona mothers and children as WIC funds poised to run dry in 3 weeks<\/div>\r\n
Wednesday, October 8, 2025<\/div>\r\n
By Lorenzo Gomez, Grace Berry and Nick Karmia<\/div>\r\n
Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n
cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nPHOENIX — Two-year-old Gia was 13 days old when doctors diagnosed her with Hirschsprung\u2019s disease, a condition that affects the large intestine. She needed specialized formula. But as the girl\u2019s mom, Esparanza, recalled, her husband\u2019s sales job barely covered rent.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nSo when they qualified for the federal Women, Infants, and Children program<\/a>, they could finally breathe a sigh of relief.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWIC provides formula and foods such as milk, juice, cheese, eggs, bread, beans, cereal and peanut butter, plus up to $26 per month per child and $52 for mothers. For Gia, the program meant a supply of much-needed probiotic yogurt.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cWithout it, I don\u2019t know,\u201d said Esparanza, who asked that her full name not be used. \u201cBut we know that we have to do what we have to do to provide for our kids.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nNearly 153,000 of Arizona\u2019s low-income mothers<\/a> and their young children rely on WIC for monthly food assistance, nutrition education and breast feeding support.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe government shutdown has put the program in limbo.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nCongressional funding ended September 30. In Arizona, leftover funds will run out by the end of October, according to Gov. Katie Hobbs\u2019 office.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cThe Governor\u2019s Office is actively exploring state funding options, as we understand the impact on newborns and maternal nutrition. But if Congress doesn\u2019t fix this, and we can\u2019t cover the gap, the program will pause indefinitely,\u201d Liliana Soto, the governor\u2019s press secretary, told Cronkite News on Tuesday.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAdvocates for low-income Americans fear that many states won\u2019t be able to keep the program going.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cIn the short term, there is enough funding. But what happens in the future, we don\u2019t know,\u201d said Kate Scully, deputy director for WIC at the Food Research and Action Center, a nonprofit organization that helps people facing poverty-related hunger.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWith anxiety and political pressure mounting, the White House on Tuesday floated the idea of using tariff revenue<\/a> to cover the cost of WIC during the shutdown. Congress would still have to approve that.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nFor now, all Arizona WIC clinics are open and participants can use their benefits at any authorized store.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cWe would like to stress that WIC is open and here for you and your children,\u201d the Arizona Department of Health Services said in a statement. \u201cAZDHS is continuing to monitor and understand the impacts of the federal government shutdown, and will provide updates as the issue evolves.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe federal government spent about $7.2 billion on WIC in fiscal 2024, which ended Sept. 30. The program reached roughly 6.7 million participants each month \u2013 including an estimated 41% of all infants nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees WIC.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nNationwide, a $150 million USDA contingency fund is keeping WIC alive. But that will probably only last another week or two, Scully said. After that, states could tap into their general funds. But that may not be possible. In some states, shifting millions of dollars into WIC would require approval by legislatures that don\u2019t meet year-round.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nJanuary Contreras, who led AZDHS as interim director in 2008 and 2009 and served in the Biden administration as a top official at the Department of Health and Human Services, said federal lawmakers should step up and reauthorize WIC funding.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cWe can\u2019t allow moms and babies to go hungry,\u201d she said.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nNow executive director of Children\u2019s Action Alliance \u2013 a nonprofit that advocates for child welfare in Arizona \u2013 Contreras said the Arizona Food Bank Network, local food drives and donations would be lifelines if WIC is frozen.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cWe\u2019re going to have to be the safety net if it doesn\u2019t exist through our government offices,\u201d she said.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nIn some previous shutdowns, the USDA reimbursed states that spent their own funds to keep WIC running. Funds can last a bit longer depending on enrollment fluctuations and how much the states set aside; they can carry over up to 3% of federal allocations from the prior year.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cEvery state is different,\u201d Scully said. \u201cSome might have more, some might have less.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nOnce the funding runs out, states will face painful choices \u2013 between pausing new enrollments, prioritizing certain age groups or cutting off aid.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWIC was created in 1972 to address malnutrition among pregnant women, infants and young children. The USDA disburses funds to states using a formula that takes into account population, the number of eligible participants and income levels.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nIn Arizona, AZDHS oversees the program, with funds flowing to county health departments and federally qualified health centers.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAt the Pima County Health Department \u2013 which runs four WIC clinics that serve 11,500 beneficiaries a month \u2013 Assistant Director Jennifer Chancay said she\u2019s not sure how long the county can continue operating during a shutdown.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe department is waiting to hear from the governor\u2019s office as to whether the state will provide funds, she said, adding, \u201cThe state and county are looking at contingency plans.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nOther states are also scrambling.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nColorado\u2019s health department says it will soon need more than $7.5 million in emergency funding from the state to keep WIC running.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nIn Washington state, health officials have warned that when federal funds run out in a week or two, they will likely have to suspend the program.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nEsparanza\u2019s WIC benefits lapsed a week before the shutdown began. She\u2019s concerned that she won\u2019t be able to renew until it ends.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nMeanwhile, Gia contracted E. coli from yogurt they found on a clearance sale. The latest round of hospital bills has put a further pinch on the family budget.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cWe have to be (smart) with electricity to try and figure out how to pay it,\u201d Esparanza said. WIC, she said, \u201cwas the only help we had.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nTens of thousands of current WIC recipients are facing uncertainty, among them Taelor Keyonnie-Begay, 30, who relies on WIC benefits administered by the Navajo Nation.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nShe has used WIC since 2021 for her two daughters, Hailee, 6, and Phoebe, 2.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThey live in Dilkon, a small Navajo County community 40 miles northeast of Winslow, in a multigenerational household with her husband\u2019s parents, while also taking care of livestock.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe winters are especially tough \u201csince it\u2019s so rural out here,\u201d she said. \u201cThe fruits and veggies might not be the freshest, but it\u2019s still going to be more expensive.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAccording to census data<\/a>, 35.5% of people on the Navajo Reservation, which includes parts of Colorado and New Mexico, live in poverty. That\u2019s nearly three times the national average.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nKeyonnie-Begay, a teacher, said she sees it in the classroom.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cWorking at the school, it puts it in perspective for me,\u201d she said, \u201csome kids are just in a bad situation.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nLorenzo Gomez reported from Phoenix. Grace Berry and Nick Karmia reported from Washington.<\/em>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nFor more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A>.<\/STRONG>\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

Note: This story originally appeared on Cronkite News<\/a>. It is published via a Creative Commons license<\/A>. Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication<\/A> at Arizona State University<\/A>.<\/EM>
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