WIC admin expenses

The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service awarded the California Department of Public Health $373.52 million on October 1, 2025, under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (CFDA 10.557) for WIC administrative expenses, with performance through September 30, 2026, statewide across California.

The award funds administration of the WIC program, which provides supplemental nutritious foods, nutrition education, and referrals to health and social services for income-eligible pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants, and children up to age five determined to be at nutritional risk. CDPH distributes funding to 48 sub-recipients across California, including county health departments, Federally Qualified Health Centers, tribal health organizations, and community-based service providers. Sub-recipients identified in this tranche include County of Shasta, Watts Healthcare Corp, North County Health Project Inc. (TrueCare), Public Health Foundation Enterprises Inc. (Heluna Health), Northeast Valley Health Corporation, Merced County Community Action Board, Plumas Rural Services, Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Delta Health Care and Management Services Corp, and numerous county health departments and healthcare organizations across California's 58 counties. Each sub-recipient provides WIC program services—including eligibility determination, nutrition education, food benefit issuance, and health care referrals—to eligible participants within their service areas. CDPH's broader WIC portfolio encompasses over $1 billion annually across food expenses, administrative costs, breastfeeding peer counselor programs, and infrastructure improvements flowing through multiple formula grants to these sub-awardees.