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. It provides cash vouchers for food deemed nutritious. In other words, it’s not like SNAP, 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 it’s 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.
I was surprised no one called out Suit up Maine for how wrong they were
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, nondairy coffee creamer, Diet Coke, Power Ade Zero, Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, and 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 they have to say.