ORLANDO, Fla. – More than 420,000 Floridians use WIC, according to a 2024 USDA report — the fourth highest number in the country.
However, those benefits are delayed for many in Central Florida due to the government shutdown, leaving families without a way to pay for baby formula and nutritional food for their children.
Destiny Perez-Prado is trying to figure out how she’s going to feed her seven children this month since her WIC and SNAP benefits are delayed.
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“It’s still just heartbreaking, you know, to think that for Thanksgiving, we might not be able to celebrate Thanksgiving — you know, have the food that we need, food that would be typically accessible to us,” Perez-Prado said.
Her benefits pay for around $800 in groceries each month, and WIC specifically covers her more expensive items like baby formula, Pediasure, and other nutritional foods.
“It’s so expensive. Just a can of formula — the cheapest is $28, I believe. And it’s crazy. Some kids need specialized formulas,” she said.
Between being a single mother, college student, and self-employed, Perez-Prado says getting a second job to afford groceries is nearly impossible.
“I have two children with autism — a little girl and a little boy — and then my third with ADHD. So for that, you know, it’s hard for me to keep a consistent job, even with my degree,” she explained.
One Heart for Women and Children is stepping in to help Perez-Prado. Founder Stephanie Bowman says about 30,000 people in Orange County use WIC — and many of them now need extra help.
“We’ve had 500 calls just this week from individuals we’ve never seen or heard from before,” Bowman said.
One Heart typically helps around 20,000 people per month, but that demand is rising due to the shutdown.
“What we’ve had to do is give families less food — and we never want to do that. But we want to make sure that every individual who comes to us can get food,” Bowman added.
Perez-Prado says she’s working to become financially stable one day, but right now her priority is feeding her kids.
“You know, they still deserve to eat. They’re babies — they didn’t ask to be here. And even if we as parents didn’t go about it the way certain people think we should to avoid problems like this, it’s still a problem. We’re still here, and we still need help,” she said.
If you’d like to donate to help out, click here.
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