A county-run program that educates young mothers about nutrition will continue to offer services at Princeton’s municipal building through 2015, thanks to the efforts of the health and human services staff.

The Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) is run by the Children’s Home Society of New Jersey. Last year, the Princeton satellite was nearly cancelled due to decreased enrollment but was saved at the last minute after officials convinced the agency that there was indeed a need for these services among Princeton’s population. A year later, there has been an increase in appointments, leading the Children’s Home Society to keep the program going for at least another year.

WIC provides checks for food, nutrition education, and breastfeeding support to those who qualify on the third Friday of every month at Witherspoon Hall. Participants, primarily pregnant women and women with young children up to age five, are advised on identifying healthy nutrition choices.

“WIC provides vital support to at-risk moms and children. I’m pleased that we will continue to be able to maintain the Princeton Clinic and help Princeton families give their children a healthy start,” said Councilwoman Heather Howard, who serves as liaison to the Princeton Board of Health and Human Services Commission. Ms. Howard was formerly Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, running the WIC programs across the state.

WIC participants must live in New Jersey and meet certain income criteria. Services are available to low income families regardless of work status or if the family receives assistance from Disability, Social Security, Food Stamps, Medicaid, or TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families). The clinic is open the third Friday of the month from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Community Room of Witherspoon Hall.

Before the appointment of Jeffrey Grosser as Princeton’s Health Officer last March, interim health officer Bob Hary was meeting with the Children’s Home Society because of a decrease in the number of clients from about 600 a few years ago to a more recent number of about 200. Mr. Hary was able to negotiate a reprieve for the program. Mr. Grosser and Human Services Director Elisa Neira, both new in their positions last year, were able to come up with a revised plan to keep the program alive and make residents aware of its existence.

With more mothers using WIC during the past year, the agency has seen fit to keep it going in Princeton. “This past year, there has definitely been an increase in appointments every day. The staff was busier,” Ms. Neira said this week. “So we met in the fall and said, let’s keep it open in 2015 and set some new goals. We have refined the retention and enrollment plan, and this year we’re looking into adding other services like maybe having someone do Medicaid applications, so there will be more of an incentive for others.”

The WIC program operated out of the Henry Pannell Center on Witherspoon Street before moving to the municipal building.

To increase outreach over the past year, WIC information was made available “wherever possible,” Mr. Grosser said in a press release. “By the end of 2014, WIC attendance at the Princeton clinic had improved, and we’re optimistic for 2015.”

For more information, visit www.princetonnj.gov.