Some Arizona counties will fill potential WIC funding gap as shutdown continues

A federal program to help low-income mothers and young children with costs for food and baby formula is in danger of running out of funds as the government shutdown continues. Now, county Boards of Supervisors are weighing whether they have it in their budgets to keep the program running in their communities.

In emergency considerations added last-minute to agendas, supervisors in Coconino and Pinal and Yuma counties this week voted to temporarily cover the gap for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, if the government shutdown continues into November.

The White House last week said it would allocate about $300 million in tariff revenue to keep WIC running, at least through the end of October.

“[The state of Arizona is] out of funds in the WIC program for food as of Oct. 31. They have enough funds to cover staff through Nov. 15. So the ask to the counties was, ‘would you consider helping?’” said Michele Axlund with Coconino County’s Department of Health and Human Services told her county's supervisors. “Some of the counties are considering helping, but it does come with a price tag.”  

The Coconino County Board of Supervisors approved up to $500,000 to cover costs until the end of the year for families in that county who rely on WIC as well as staffers in the county who run the program. Pinal County supervisors approved up to $800,000 to cover WIC costs in that county through November. Yuma County supervisors approved up to $302,000 to cover infants in that county through November.

In Coconino County, the money came from a $15 million fund intended to manage disasters like fires and floods, said Supervisor Patrice Horstman.

Counties may not need to spend everything they allot to WIC if the government reopens soon. And they may be able to be reimbursed later on for what they spend.

“It depends if the USDA funds 100% what was due to the state,” Axlund told Coconino County supervisors. “If the USDA gets funded short because of the budget cutdown, in the contract that the state is requesting from the counties, it is not a guarantee of repayment.”

Horstman in Coconino County expressed concern that her county would not have the budget to keep this funding going very long beyond the end of the year, if it came to that.

“We cannot take on the federal responsibility and the federal programs,” Horstman said. "We can’t do it forever. We’re just a little county. We’ve got little resources but we can do it for a while to try to help the most vulnerable."

Statewide, WIC has more than 150,000 participants.

Celia Nabor, assistant director for prevention services with the Arizona Department of Health Services, clarified the state had not asked counties for funding but said she had provided counties with information about the costs to operate the program in their areas.

"That is a very local decision," Nabor said.