With the U.S. government shutdown about to enter its third week, funding for community aid programs is at risk of running out.

One of the most significant programs that could run out of funding as the shut down drags on is the Women, Infants, and Children Program, more commonly known as WIC, which provides food assistance to low-income pregnant women and mothers with children up to 5 years old.

“A prolonged federal government shutdown endangers the health of babies and young children,” said Will County Health Department Communications Program Manager Kevin Juday. “Families could potentially lose access to essential WIC services such as access to infant formula, breastfeeding support, and other critical WIC resources, leading to harmful health impacts. Without this support, families may be forced to make difficult decisions about how to feed their infants and young children.”

The benefit is meant to help new parents provide healthy nutrition for themselves and their children, and provides educational resources as well as payment cards which can be used purchase healthy foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, formula, juice, eggs, and whole grain cereal and bread products, according to the Illinois Department of Human Services.

WIC serves nearly 7 million women and children per month in the U.S., according to the Will County Health Department, including 165,000 in Illinois and about 8,500 in Will County.

The program is funded nationally by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which distributes funds to state and local health departments for their residents. Since the program’s fiscal year began on Oct. 1, it is currently operating on contingency funds and could see funding run out this month.

Juday said that as of Oct. 7, Will County’s WIC program was “operating as normal.”

“While we’re not anticipating any immediate disruptions in WIC benefits and services, a prolonged shutdown may result in disruptions in service for vulnerable populations,” he said.

Juday said Will County is not aware if the state has plans to supplement funding for programs like WIC if the shutdown continues long-term and federal funding runs out.

But he encourages participants in the program to check the Will County Health Department website and the Illinois WIC app for updates and guidance on the situation as it continues to unfold.