For as long as we can remember, many people have experienced difficulties and worries, among which little or no income is one of the biggest causes. There are some programs in the United States that can help populations facing these difficulties obtain the essential goods they need. One such beneficial program is WIC. WIC stands for Women, Infants and Children; and is a special supplementary nutrition program aimed at nutritionally at-risk mothers, infants and children, due to low income. The program assists families in efforts to provide nutritious foods, information and counseling on healthy eating, and to provide referrals to other government health and benefit programs such as social and welfare services. (Food and Nutrition Service, 2013) The history of WIC dates back to the 1960s, when many Americans suffered from malnutrition due to low income. By 1969, the nation's concern about malnutrition, especially among mothers and children, had greatly increased, and the USDA established a supplemental commodity feeding program to benefit pregnant women, infants, and children. legislation had previously authorized the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program as a 2-year pilot program in 1972 with an amendment to the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, and in 1975 WIC was established as a permanent program. (Oliveira, Racine, Olmsted, & Ghelfi, 2002) The purpose of WIC, as stated previously, is to improve the health of women, infants, and children at nutritional risk through adequate nutritional help. According to the USDA, Wic has improved birth outcomes with longer pregnancies, higher birth weight, lower infant mortality, and more mothers receiving prenatal care. Also improving savi...... middle of paper ...... and volunteer opportunities consist of answering phones, filing chats, greeting wic attendees, and reading and leading activities for children while their parents are busy. Requirements include the ability to read and write, the ability to work well with others, enjoyment of working with families and children receiving wic, and sensitivity to cultural diversity. (Wic Office, 2014). The benefits of volunteers are lower administrative costs, increased resources, and increased quality and quantity of services provided to participants. Additionally, the community benefits greatly from WIC as participants are healthier due to the nutritional assistance and health referrals provided by the program. . There are also significant healthcare cost savings as a result of prenatal and postpartum care for mothers which makes for healthier babies.