Military Families Need Better Options for Nutrition
The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Overseas Program at MCB Camp Kinser provides you and your family with several important benefits:
-Nutritious food
-Tips on how to prepare balanced meals
-Health screenings
-Other resources that help you lead healthier lives
WIC Overseas counselors determine eligibility for the program by evaluating income, family size, and certain other criteria. Food items generally available through the WIC Overseas Program include: Canned tuna, salmon, and mackerel Cheese Dried beans or peas Eggs Fresh fruits and vegetables Infant fruits and vegetables Iron-fortified infant formula and infant cereal Iron-fortified adult cereal Milk Peanut butter Vitamin C-rich fruit and/or vegetable juice Whole-grain bread and/or brown rice
WIC Overseas Program staff will provide ideas for meal planning, food preparation, and recipes that are nutritious. Your counselor will give you an approved food list and redeemable food checks called “drafts,” which you exchange for specific foods and quantities in overseas commissaries and NEXMARTs (drafts are accepted only at these overseas stores).
If the commissary or NEXMART does not have the item listed on your draft, keep the draft until the item is in stock. However, be aware of the draft’s expiration date.
In addition to providing nutritious food and meal planning, the WIC Overseas Program offers a nutritional screening for you and your children. This screening may help identify medical conditions early so that you can seek proper medical advice.