When her husband got laid off in 2001, Beth Hodge of Ringgold worried about affording basic necessities for their then-18-month-old daughter Victoria.

But the Hodges were able to get needed food vouchers and healthy meal options thanks to a federal program for new and expectant moms and children under 5.

“As a newcomer and in our job circumstances, they were very compassionate to the nutritional needs of the family,” said Ms. Hodge, who now has three daughters, the youngest of whom is 4 and still qualifies for the program. “There’s a lot of families out there who are just struggling to make it, even if they’re both working. There is a huge need for this program.”

The federal Women, Infants and Children nutritional program, known as WIC, has been in place for 30 years and gives states grants to administer the program.

Georgia’s WIC, the fifth largest in the nation, provides monthly vouchers for supplemental foods including cereal, eggs, juice, milk, peanut butter and infant formula to more than 325,000 participants, according to the state Department of Human Resources.

Getting proper nutrition to expectant moms is crucial, said Dr. Jan BeVille, regional health officer with the Tennessee health department’s Southeast regional office in Chattanooga.

“Healthy mothers have healthy babies,” she said.

For the first time this year, Tennessee’s WIC program will offer fresh produce from farmers’ markets for participants. Georgia WIC is in its third year of partnering with local farmers markets.

In the Northwest Georgia Public Health District alone, 20,000 women or children participate in WIC, said Cicely Thomas, district nutrition manager and a registered dietitian. The district includes Dade, Walker and Catoosa counties.

The program also encourages breast-feeding and offers basic nutritional education to mothers, many of whom may not know the fundamentals, such as when to begin solid foods and what kinds of foods are appropriate for infants, Ms. Thomas said.

Georgia health officials are asking for feedback from the public about the program. An annual comment period, which can be accessed through the Georgia Division of Public Health’s Web site by the beginning of July, this year will be extended all year long instead of the usual 30 days, said department spokeswoman Taka Wiley.

Past comments from participants and physicians have helped improve the program, she said. For example, physicians were concerned last year about juice being included in infants’ food packages because of the high sugar content, so juices have been removed, she said. Comments from those who receive WIC products also are a big help, she said.

“You want to hear from the public in order to understand exactly what they want out of a WIC program,” she said.

As the recession continues, more families need help to afford healthy foods, health advocates in Tennessee and Georgia said.

In Monroe County, Tenn., “we’ve just had huge hits from layoffs in manufacturing,” said Jill Alliman, director and nurse midwife for the Women’s Wellness and Maternity Center in that county. “Definitely, with the economic situation, more and more families are losing resources, so they are needing the WIC more now.”

About 80 percent of the women who visit the Monroe County center are eligible for WIC benefits, she said.

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