WIC vendors are critical partners in improving the health of our WIC participants.

Dear WIC Vendor:

We greatly value the service you give our WIC participants.

WIC vendors are very important to the success of the WIC Program. We thank you for your commitment to providing nutritious foods for our WIC shoppers and a pleasant shopping experience.

In 2009 WIC made changes to the list of foods participants are able to purchase. These changes were made throughout the state by the executives of our California WIC Program. They decided it would be helpful if local WIC staff assisted vendors like you to make these changes.

Our local program is called the LA BioMed WIC program. We serve WIC participants who live and shop in South Los Angeles and nearby communities.

We have staff called “vendor liaisons” who are assigned to help you. They will answer your questions about WIC foods and WIC regulations. They will suggest resources and referrals to help you with issues related to the WIC food package.

Our goal is to ensure that a WIC participant’s shopping experience and the WIC vendor’s transactions are positive.

Our vendor liaisons visit you and other vendors on a quarterly basis. They conduct what are called Technical Assistance visits to support you in meeting the WIC Program requirements.

During their visits the vendor liaisons look for such things as whether:

• you are posting the price on the shelf
• you are using the WIC Logo
• you have incentive items
• you are meeting the minimum stocking requirements

Also the vendor liaisons look for whether you deal with your WIC customers appropriately when they hand you their “food instrument” (food check).

Learn more by clicking on the following links:

Meet Our Staff>>

Role of the Local Vendor Liaison>>

California WIC Vendor Resources>>

We look forward to building a strong partnership with you. If you have questions or requests, please phone us or the vendor liaisons listed on the Meet Our Staff page.

Sincerely,

Irene Heath
Vendor Liaison Supervisor
LA BioMed/WIC Program
(323) 757-7244 Ext. 224

Maria Padilla-Castro
Chief, WIC Outreach & Provider Relations
LA BioMed/WIC Program
(323) 905-1252