I was perusing Twitter last night when I saw this tweet in my feed. It’s from Suit up Maine, a progressive group in Maine trying to get Senator Susan Collins replaced this upcoming election. That’s if we ever have elections again. The organization is telling people not to buy products eligible for WIC, also known as the supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children.
WIC provides cash vouchers for food deemed nutritious. In other words, it’s not like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), also known as food stamps. With SNAP, a person can buy nothing but junk food if they wish. In some states, recipients can even use their SNAP benefits to eat in restaurants.
Here is the tweet:
If an item has a WIC symbol beside the price, get something else?
This is terrible advice and factually wrong. If a product has the WIC identifier, it means it’s nutritious. In other words, it’s just the type of food everyone should be consuming, especially during this coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, WIC does not dictate what brands a recipient can purchase. That would be stupid. When it comes to breakfast cereal, it has to be either unsweetened corn or bran flakes.
Why did no one point out how stupid Suit up Maine was being?
When I go grocery shopping, I buy a lot of WIC eligible food. I buy it because it is nutritious. It’s not junk food.
I don’t go out looking for the WIC symbol, but most of the food I buy just happens to be WIC eligible. Chicken, tuna, vegetables, whole wheat bread, eggs, cheese, and fruit. The only exceptions being coffee, non-dairy coffee creamer, Diet Coke, Powerade Zero, Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, and many different forms of hot sauce.
Instead of anyone telling Suit up Maine how stupid they are or how bad their information is, everyone is ass-patting them for their “wonderful” advice. Sure. Why am I not surprised?
A good rule of thumb is when someone encourages you to not buy nutritious food, don’t listen to anything else they have to say.
