One of the most rigid errands on many Michigan families’ weekly to-do lists just went digital. Meijer is now letting WIC shoppers use their benefits on eligible orders placed through its website or app, with pickup or delivery available. The rollout makes Meijer the first retailer in Michigan to offer a full digital WIC checkout.
The new option was detailed by Crain’s Detroit Business and announced by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. According to Michigan’s Thumb, the service is live at all 122 Meijer stores in Michigan and includes free home delivery for eligible orders, while state officials work on bringing more retailers into the online WIC program.
How Michigan WIC Online Shopping Works
To shop online with WIC, customers need to sign in or create a Meijer account, then add their WIC EBT card before filling a cart. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says shoppers can then search specifically for items labeled WIC-eligible and choose either pickup or delivery. Proxy cards, which some families use in-store, are not allowed for online purchases.
WIC-covered items and regular groceries can go into the same virtual cart, with another payment method used for anything outside WIC benefits. Families still have to follow their WIC shopping list, and the state cautions that produce sold by weight can nudge the final total up or down by the time the order is filled. Most WIC items cannot be returned, although exchanges may be allowed for damaged, spoiled, incorrect, or recalled products, according to Michigan’s Thumb.
A Digital Shift For Nearly 190,000 Michigan WIC Participants
The change affects a sizable group. Nearly 190,000 pregnant women, mothers, babies and children under age 5 receive food through Michigan’s WIC program each month, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. In addition to groceries, WIC provides nutrition education, breastfeeding support and referrals to other health services.
The Meijer launch follows a new statewide framework for online WIC vendors that took effect February 1. The policy subjects digital retailers to authorization and compliance rules similar to those brick-and-mortar WIC stores already face, as outlined by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
For families juggling pregnancy, infant care and a tight grocery budget, the rules for what WIC will and will not cover remain firmly in place. What changes is the errand itself, which no longer has to mean wrangling a cart down store aisles when the same WIC-approved list can now be checked off from the couch.
