EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) — Gov. Polis announced on Wednesday that emergency funding was secured for Colorado’s Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, which was in jeopardy due to the government shutdown.
WIC is a nutritional program whose primary focus is to provide food, education and formula to families. El Paso County Public Health (EPCPH) was preparing for a shutdown out of an abundance of caution.
“We were preparing for the possibility of there not being food benefits for October, but Colorado, the state, figured out an emergency funding situation, so there are benefits. But yes, we were doing a lot of work, kind of networking with food banks or local providers and things like that, just to try to fill any gaps that might be occurring if we were to not be able to function. But luckily, we are. We’re encouraging clients to attend their appointments in October, and they are able to use that for the benefits too,” explained Melissa Gordon, the Division Manager for WIC at El Paso County Public Health…