Foodlink’s Curbside Market, a mobile market serving the Rochester region, now accepts WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) benefits at all of its locations. The Curbside Market is the only WIC-eligible mobile market in New York, and this expansion will make WIC products more available to participants who live in neighborhoods that lack food retailers.
“WIC” refers to the USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, which provides resources and financial support for low-income families with children, up to age 5, to supplement their diets with nutritious foods. The Curbside Market sells a full range of WIC-eligible products, including fresh fruit and vegetables, dairy products, whole grains, and more.
More than 95% of products available at the Curbside Market are WIC-eligible, making it easier for shoppers to find accessible and affordable options. The market’s convenient locations and expanded inventory will help increase WIC utilization in Rochester.
“Expanding WIC benefits to all Foodlink mobile markets is a powerful way to close gaps in access to healthy food for families in Monroe County,” said Dr. Marielena Vélez De Brown, Monroe County’s acting commissioner of Public Health. “Social determinants of health—like economic stability, reliable transportation, neighborhood resources and food availability—can limit access to healthy choices and significantly impact well-being. By making it easy for WIC participants to find nutritious food options right in their own neighborhoods, Foodlink is breaking down these barriers, empowering families to build healthier habits, improve child development and set a foundation for lifelong health. I encourage anyone who may be eligible to sign up for WIC and take advantage of this valuable resource.”
Whitley Hasty, Foodlink’s Benefits Navigation Specialist, has spent more than a year as part of the National WIC Association’s Participatory Advisory Council. The National WIC Association (NWA) is a non-profit voice for America’s WIC clinics, advocating for funding, educating policymakers and engaging a variety of providers through training and education. In 2023, Hasty joined a small and diverse group of former and current WIC participants that worked with the NWA’s Communications team on opportunities to shape advancements within the WIC program nationally. These opportunities included media appearances and op-eds, focus groups with the USDA’s Food & Nutrition Service and nutrition research leader Mathematica, national conferences and more.
“I know personally that WIC is more than just monthly cash for healthy food – it was lifesaving for me,” Hasty said. “It is really exciting that our team gets to be a part of increasing access to it. One of the reasons I started at Foodlink as a Curbside Market Ambassador was for this reason. There’s no confusion about brand names or product sizes, or whether or not anything is eligible to redeem with your monthly benefits. If we can help and alleviate some of the stress that shoppers experience, then we are doing our job to alleviate hunger.”
Foodlink began piloting the acceptance of WIC benefits in 2021, starting with two of its 50+ sites. It grew to more sites in the subsequent years before expanding to all sites with the release of its fall schedule in October. So far, WIC has accounted for 20% of total sales at select locations during the pilot period.
“The best thing about WIC, when I had it, was that I didn’t have to use my food stamps on milk, cheese and juice – the healthy, expensive items,” said Carlos Torres, a Foodlink Curbside Market Ambassador for Lexington Court Apartments. “WIC let me stretch my dollars for everything else. The Curbside Market takes the hassle out of finding the things that qualify.”
This year marks the 50th anniversary of our nation’s first WIC clinic opening its doors. WIC not only supports families, but also benefits our local and state economy and improves community health. WIC supports more than 6.7 million people every year, including half of all infants born in the United States.
According to the New York State Department of Health, more than 400,000 individuals participated in WIC last year, however that only represents a little more than half of all eligible women, infants and children. Studies also have shown a dramatic drop in participation after the child’s first year. While nearly 80% of eligible infants (ages 0-1) participated in WIC, that number shrunk to 42% for children ages 1-4. The Curbside Market’s expansion aims to make it easier to shop, and more worthwhile to enroll in the program for local families.
“Foodlink’s Curbside Market has been a wonderful resource for our residents at many of our Public Housing sites,” said Shawn Burr, Rochester Housing Authority’s Executive Director. “Many of our residents’ face challenges getting to a store and they depend on the Curbside Market to get the healthy foods they need.”
Foodlink’s Curbside Market has been a vital resource for the Rochester region since launching in 2013, bringing healthy, fresh, and affordable food to communities in need. With its commitment to serving everyone, regardless of age, ability, or status, the market has become a trusted source for nutritious food options. For more information, visit FoodlinkNY.org/CurbsideMarket.
