Maternal and Family Health Services has relocated its Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Center to 111 E. Broad St. in Tamaqua.

The site is open Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“We are excited about the opportunity to provide WIC at a more convenient location for the families we serve,” said Dr. Maria Montoro Edwards, president and chief executive officer of MFHS.

The office had been at 139 W. Broad St. for a number of years, said Anne Gober, practice manager, who oversees the Tamaqua site.

But a pipe at that building burst and flooded the office, which necessitated the move.

Luckily, Gober said, the Clinical Outcomes Group Inc. was in the process of moving and offered the site to MHFS.

“We are very grateful to them,” Gober said. “We were able to maintain operations thanks to their help.”

WIC provides nutrition education and healthy foods to pregnant, postpartum and breast-feeding women, infants, and children up to age 5. It also provide breast-feeding support and the Farmers Market Nutrition program to WIC families.

Clients receive supplemental foods that contain nutrients essential for healthy development during critical growth periods, such as pregnancy, infancy and early childhood.

Among the items, Gober said, are cheese, yogurt, soy products and milk, fruits and vegetables, cereals, whole grains, eggs, peanut butter and infant food and formula.

To qualify for WIC, participants must meet the income guidelines, have a nutritional or medical need and live in Pennsylvania. Income guidelines are available at https://www.mfhs.org/programs/wic-nutrition/eligibility-benefits/.

“A misconception about WIC is that people think they are not eligible because they are not receiving food stamps or income assistance,” Gober said. “WIC is for working families. The income guidelines are 185% of the federal poverty level, and it means that a lot more families qualify than people realize.”

She noted that a family of four could earn $49,025 annually and qualify for WIC. For a family of three, the income limit is $40,626, and for a family of two it is $32,222.

To make the shopping experience easier, Gober noted that PA WIC launched an eWIC card and WIC shopper app.

“It’s been a huge hit with our participants. Paper checks are gone, and families can purchase just what they need, when they need it,” Gober said. “For example, before if they got 4 gallons of milk for the month, it was printed on one check, so they had to buy all at once or lose the benefit if they bought less than four. Now they can get one at a time.”

WIC also has offices across the region at 125 E. Centre St., Shenandoah; 2510 W. Market St., Pottsville; 701 Bridge St., Suite 303, Lehighton, and 10 W. Chestnut St., Suite 9, Hazleton.

The Pottsville location also offers reproductive health services, including gynecological exams, cervical and breast cancer screenings and pregnancy testing.

“We were committed to keeping a space near the center of town, near public transportation and as close as possible to local stores that accept WIC,” Gober said of the Tamaqua site. “That is always our goal with our locations - trying to make them convenient to the people we serve and making sure we remove as many barriers to accessing our services as possible.”

Pennsylvania WIC is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture.

For more information about the WIC Nutrition Program, visit www.mfhs.org or call 1-800-367-6347. The Tamaqua office may be reached at 570-668-4699.