OKLAHOMA CITY –
In Oklahoma, the lapse in appropriations could disrupt WIC benefits for more than 80,000 women, infants and children.
If that happens, those people may seek out greater assistance from partners, like the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.
“Within that network, we’ve known that this federal shutdown has kind of been a possibility for several months,” said Austin Prickett, a spokesperson for the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.
Prickett said the state’s network of food banks is preparing for increased traffic, including from furloughed federal workers who are getting closer to missing their first check.
As for WIC itself, the USDA maintains a small contingency fund to keep it from collapsing immediately. But those funds will quickly be spent.
“The real concern, the big concern, is if this drags on for two more weeks,” said Chris Bernard, CEO of Hunger Free Oklahoma.
Oklahoma, compared to other states, is in a unique situation with WIC. There are 10 groups that administer the program.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health administers the statewide program, but several tribes manage their own community members who are eligible to participate.
“Each one will actually be in a slightly different situation based on if they have carryover funds to help float their program more, or if they make other decisions,” Bernard said.
In Shawnee, the WIC program for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation has not yet encountered any difficulties with keeping the program running. It recently received a disbursement of federal funds.
But it depends on the National WIC Association to keep up with the changing political environment.
“They keep us informed, and have assured us funding is coming,” said Shelly Schneider, director of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation WIC program. “We just don’t know when.”
Statewide, no lapse in services has been reported yet.
“We do not anticipate our WIC program to be impacted immediately by the federal government shutdown,” said a spokesperson for the Oklahoma State Department of Health. “However, the OSDH is looking at the potential impacts if the shutdown were to last longer than a few weeks.”
OSDH also said it is considering internal funding measures to extend program services, if needed.
While funding has not yet officially run dry, it’s not exactly clear what could be the last day for WIC services for most administrators in Oklahoma.
The WIC experts News 9 spoke with each agree that anything extending beyond a month will absolutely jeopardize the program.
The Trump administration has announced it intends to solve any funding issue for the program by redirecting proceeds from tariffs.
However, the idea could potentially require congressional approval.
