WIC continues to offer in-person and curbside services for all participants during the COVID 19 Pandemic. The WIC participant is given a choice of an in-person appointment or a curbside appointment. In-person appointments are offered in Hillsboro on Monday and in Arnold on Tuesday. Curbside days are Wednesday in Arnold and Thursday in Hillsboro.   

If participants choose an in-person appointment, they have a traditional in-person WIC appointment, with face-to-face nutrition counseling and height, weight, and hemoglobin (iron) checks as needed. WIC benefits are loaded on the eWIC card in the office and given to the WIC participant in person.   
 
If participants choose a curbside appointment, they come to their WIC appointment at their scheduled time and check-in via an app called MyMobileCheckIn. Once checked in, WIC staff will go to the participant’s vehicle and retrieve the eWIC card, call the participant from inside the WIC clinic and complete the appointment over the phone, load the eWIC card with the benefits and return the card to the participant in their vehicle. For curbside appointments, height, weight, and hemoglobin checks are waived.   

The change to eWIC was implemented at the end of 2020.  Gone are the old paper WIC checks! Staff and participants alike are loving the convenience of the new eWIC card.  Did you know that Missouri WIC now has an app? The WIC Shopper App can be downloaded to a phone or mobile device and provides real-time info regarding WIC benefits. One can check the WIC balance on the eWIC card (the participant’s card must be linked), scan items at the grocery store to check if they are WIC approved, find healthy recipes, view the WIC approved foods, report issues with redeeming benefits to the State and more! This is a free and helpful tool for all WIC families.    

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. Lung Cancer is the leading cancer killer of both men and women in the U.S. every year. It kills more people annually than breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer combined. Currently, 1 in 16 people in the U.S. can expect to receive a lung cancer diagnosis, which is 1 out of every 15 men, and 1 out of every 17 women. About an estimated 132,000 lung cancer deaths are expected to occur in 2021 in the U.S., accounting for about 18% of all cancer deaths nationwide. If you want more facts about lung cancer, visit this link: Lung Cancer Facts: 29 Statistics and Facts | LCFA (lcfamerica.org).  
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Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for lung cancer. Therefore, research is even more important. New research is making it possible for people to live with their lung cancer and manage it like a chronic disease, but until a cure is found, continued research and testing will be vital.  

With November being Lung Cancer Awareness Month, there is no better time to help create awareness to this terrible disease and help find solutions and fund research. There are many things you can do. You can make donations to lung cancer foundations and research centers. You can make a Facebook fundraiser. You could also donate a vehicle. If you are interested in helping, use this link to the Lung Cancer Foundation of America’s website and find what is best for you out of the many donation options available: Donate to Lung Cancer Research | Lung Cancer Foundation of America (lcfamerica.org).  

Lung cancer is a terrible disease that takes way too many lives each year. It is important for all of us to continue to help fund research and create awareness. Make sure you are doing your part this November and help fight this disease and find the solution to rid of lung cancer for good. Together, we can all make a difference! ​

On October 14, JFCAC partner with multiple agencies for the Jefferson County Project Homeless Connect (JCPHC) event. The lead agency was Comtrea, with other agencies such as Jefferson College, Arsenal Credit Union, the Jefferson County Health Department, as well as a few others, participating in the event. This event brought social service providers together to connect to individuals and families who are homeless or at risk for homelessness with the services they need in one place, on one day. The event was held at the First Baptist Arnold in Arnold, MO.  

The JCPHC had three main goals, which were: Generating public awareness, reducing barriers and improving access to services for homeless individuals and families, and engaging and increasing the collaborative involvement of homeless consumers, businesses, the non-profit community, and individual volunteers to create solutions to end homelessness. There were 32 vendors available at the event, plus an additional 27 community volunteers.  

The event saw 26 participants walk through the door. Of those 26 participants, we were able to reach 64 of their family members with potential services. Of those 64 participants, 36 are staying in hotels/motels, 1 is staying home, 3 are staying in their cars, 2 are staying in the parking lots, 8 are with friends, and 13 are currently in homeless shelters. Also, of those 64 homeless, 30 of them were children aged 17 and under. Two of them were aged 18-29, eight were 30-29, five were 40-49, eight were 50-59, and four were 60-69. There were also two veterans served.  

Overall, the event was a success and the goals of the JCPHC were reached. Many homeless were able to connect with vendors for the services they needed and will receive the help they need moving forward. If you would like to learn more about the event or the other vendors involved in the event, or check out some of the photos from the event, visit the Jefferson County Project Homeless Connect Facebook Page at this link: Project Homeless Connect-Jefferson County, MO - Home | Facebook.  ​