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The Springfield-Greene County Health Department celebrated the opening of the new WIC office in Republic on Friday with a ribbon cutting ceremony.  Demand for the WIC program has been steadily increasing over the years, and officials say the new office hopes to accommodate that growth. KSMU’s Theresa Carter attended the ceremony at the new Republic facility and files this report.

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department held a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the new satellite office location for the Republic WIC program.

WIC, which stands for Women, Infants, and Children, is a nutritional program benefitting qualifying families with education, and vouchers for certain foods.

WIC is designed to safeguard the health of pregnant and nursing women, as well as infants and young children up to the age of five, who might otherwise be at risk for poor health. By receiving these services families can learn and maintain healthy habits, which can benefit them for a lifetime.

Harold Bengsch, Associate Commissioner of Greene County, explains.

"Many Greene County residents might otherwise be at a nutritional risk, or even go hungry. Children would then be at risk of growing up with poor eating habits that would later lead to poor health conditions such as; diabetes, heart disease or poor oral health."

The new Republic WIC office is located at 937 North Lindsey, and has actually been serving clients since May 18th. The Republic office currently serves 463 participants, but expects that number to reach as many as 1,000 people through this expansion.

The WIC office had previously been operating from a satellite location at the Hood Methodist Church for the past 18 years. Mary Ellison, WIC Coordinator, explains how the WIC program can benefit many types of families.

"Often times folks think that WIC is a welfare program, or a foodstamp program, and it is not. It is for all kinds of folks, people from all walks of life."

Current office hours in Republic are on Mondays and Tuesdays from 8 in the morning until noon, and Wednesdays and Thursdays from 1-5 in the afternoon. For KSMU news, I’m Theresa Carter.

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