Wic Related Food Items

[Rowena]

I just had a baby, and am on WIC... they gave me three things to buy that I am not sure on.

 

Cereal, canned beans, and peanut butter.

 

I can get the following brands.

Kroger, Market Pantry (Target), Everyday Essentials (Albertson's), Western Family, Great Value (Walmart), Hy-top (WinCo)

 

Anyone know if there are ANY items in any of these brands I can safely eat?  I'm pretty sensitive.

 

(I did see Kroger Peanut Butter and WF Corn squares have potential, but that's about all I could find)

[kareng]

My neice said she got Chex on WIC. Never seen a PB with gluten nor plain canned beans. Read the ingredients.

[Adalaide]

I don't happen to recall what types of cereals they cover. I do recall that 18 years ago they did do name brand cereals. I would suggest just contacting each company about each product. I know that seems time consuming but there is really little else you can do other than not get it.

[Rowena]

I'm going to go back in and ask AGAIN if there are ANY modifications to the list, but as of right now, I can only deal with the generic brands, which means no Chex. (I LOVE Chex too!  Oh well... I suppose its not the WORST thing in the world to buy them myself...when I go back to work that is and thus have more money to buy my own food).  Given I've rarely bought generic brands, and not without research though, I'm kinda in a slump.  And Kroger has that full list of gluten-free products of theirs and the beans weren't on it, so I'm not sure I trust it.  I know GV canned beans aren't guaranteed gluten-free though.  Says right on the can.  (Least it did 2.5 years ago when I last thought to buy canned beans for myself)

 

Edit:  Adalaide, sorry just saw your comment.  For some reason Utah WIC isn't much for covering name brand stuff... unless its bread or tortillas.  But that's about it. (And thank goodness they didn't give me bread on my checks... Whole Wheat bread?  Why don't you kill me now!  They do have corn tortillas on the list for the tortillas though... And I THINK a couple brands are absolutely gluten-free corn tortillas)

[Adalaide]

You don't HAVE to get what you can't use. I used to do that also. If your check is for X, Y and Z and you can't use Y, just don't get it. You can explain your issues and hope they will listen. I live in Utah now but didn't deal with Utah when I did the WIC thing.

[Adria]

I work for WIC in Texas. Did you get the gluten free food package on your card? That might make it easier to see what items are okay for you to buy. You can buy rice or corn chex cereal or gluten free Rice Krispies. Beans and peanut butter should be gluten free also. Here is the link for the gluten free food flyer for Texas WIC Open Original Shared Link

[Adalaide]

Sadly, not all beans end up gluten free on the shelf. I have seen here in Utah some beans from Western Family or Kroger brand that say they are processed in a facility with wheat. Sadly, just because certain brands are covered in one state, does not mean they will be in another.

[karichelle]

The Great Value beans I have seen say "may contain wheat." I buy all my canned beans at Aldi. They have some clear labeling practices in place at their store  and items that are either gluten-free or naturally gluten-free are labeled as such on the package. Can you go there? They do have a Chex knockoff, not sure if it's marked gluten-free or not because I haven't looked at it (I have too much cereal in my pantry right now from a Nature's Path sale).

[Brandiwine]

I don't live in Utah but our store brands here carry corn and rice chex. If I were in your shoes I would talk to management at the store in which I'm shopping, show them my wic approved list and allow then to show me what is availed gluten-free.

[Adalaide]

I can get the following brands.

Kroger, Market Pantry (Target), Everyday Essentials (Albertson's), Western Family, Great Value (Walmart), Hy-top (WinCo)

 

We do not have Aldi in Utah. Other than the stores listed, the two additional stores would be Smith's (Kroger in other areas) and Macey's based on those brands. (Possibly Harmon's? I believe they are Western Family also.)

 

Store managers can not deviate from the list. If they do and allow a customer to get something other than specific brands, or even specific milk (in PA we had to choose the cheapest brand of milk) they will lose their ability to accept WIC. Probably their job while they're at it because that is a huge income loss for a store. When I worked in grocery stores I watched cashiers get fired over WIC offenses because the only way stores can handle this is a zero tolerance policy for screw ups. So no, the store manager will not work with her and go against what is on the list. She must work with the WIC office to get what she needs listed on the check.

[Adalaide]

BTW, I found the pdf of the authorized foods list for Utah. The only cereals I see on the list I would bother calling about are the generic Chex ones. The rice cereals and corn flakes are all sure to have barley malt and everything else is either made of oats or wheat. It does list Cream of Rice, some people do okay with this product and others do not. You can see a response from the company here about how they attempt to prevent CC. https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/98844-cream-of-rice/ Whether or not you would choose to try it (assuming you can even find it, it is insanely rare in my city) is really up to you. With summer coming I don't see that being particularly likely.

[kareng]

I don't remember if Rowena has an actual diagnosis on paper?  If so, I would take that to the WIC office along with something explaining Celiac from a reliable source like:

 

Open Original Shared Link

[Rowena]

Ooooh time to play catch up... Adalaide, Yes, Macey's harmon's and Dan's are all WIC approved cause they are the WF stores.

Adria:  Didn't know there was a gluten free card... I think I said I probably am going back to see what I can do.  And I'll ask AGAIN about special requirements.  If not, I'm saying it now.  (I'm a new mom going on zero sleep, so don't ask me to remember what I said, hahahaha.  This morning alone I forgot I told my hubby to get the pacifier two seconds after I told him.)

Adaladie again:  Yes, all the brands they say I can use have lists of items they can guarantee are gluten-free.  Only the gluten-free peanut Butter, and WF Corn chex I found were fine...  Didn't find beans at all...  (Those are the three things I have this month with possible issues).  As for Cream of Rice, I guess I'll avoid that one, because I tend to be one of those people who usually fall in the 'do not' category.  (HATE my intolerances sometimes.)

Kareng: Oh, I never thought of that!  I don't have a written diagnosis, but I can easily get one.  (I've not needed one since we found out... doctors and hospitals just say, 'Okay' because they don't want to mess with it.)

 

Edit:  If I missed responding to comments or have typos, I do apologize... Tired and not wearing glasses is a BAD combination.

[Adria]

It sounds like Utah WIC doesn't provide as many options as Texas. I said card because Texas uses an EBT card instead of paper vouchers. If they do have a gluten free food package that should help clear up which items you can buy. The Kroger brand rice and corn chex say "a gluten free food" on the boxes here.

[Juliebove]

Watch  out for the Walmart Great Value.  I can't say for sure on the beans but the peas and most anything else I've checked is made on shared lines.

[karichelle]

The GV beans I have seen at Walmart were all made on shared lines. The canned hominy was like that too.