(Radio Iowa) – Families in Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska that take part in the Women, Infants, and Children program can now use their cards to shop online at most Hy-Vee stores in the state as part of a pilot program. Kate Franken, a Midwest WIC director, says shopping with young children can be challenging, and without an online option, fewer healthy foods are accessible. “This became a problem and really clear during the pandemic that the families that receive WIC benefits were not able to redeem those online,” Franken says, “like many of us consumers did at that time.”

Franken says the pilot program was launched in February at one Hy-Vee store in each state and it’s seen great success. “We’re hopeful to expand this around the state and into other retailers,” she says, “but we’ll need partners in the retail community to do that.”

Franken says grocery delivery is available from Hy-Vee for an additional fee, which cannot be paid for using WIC benefits.