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Indiana to change infant formula brand for WIC recipients in October

Shelves of infant formula at a grocery store.
ParentingPatch
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Wikimedia Commons
The Indiana WIC program is switching its contracted infant formula brand from Gerber to Enfamil in October 2023.

The brand of infant formula that Indiana Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program recipients can get is changing.

The transition from Gerber to Enfamil will begin Oct. 1.

“This change is occurring because our federal regulations require all state WIC agencies to competitively bid an infant formula rebate contract about every four years,” said Laura Chavez, Indiana WIC director.

Chavez said because WIC benefits are distributed on a rolling basis, the transition will happen at slightly different times for recipients across the entire month of October. She said they’ll see the shift happen in their WIC app and on their EBT cards.

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Chavez noted the state is ensuring recipients have access to formula by working with groceries and pharmacies to ensure stock levels of both brands are available during the transition.

“And if, for some reason, they have a challenge, they can call their local WIC office, and they will work with them to ensure that they have access to a formula that they can find,” Chavez said.

Recipients can also visit wic.in.gov for more information.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.