BATON ROUGE — Louisiana's WIC program is switching to a new Electronic Benefits Transfer card system starting Aug. 1, giving families a more convenient way to manage their benefits, the Louisiana Department of Health announced.

The Louisiana Women, Infants and Children program is rolling out the new WIC EBT cards as part of an updated online system. The upgrade lets WIC clinics load benefits remotely on a quarterly basis, so participants no longer have to visit a clinic in person to reload their benefits.

The new system should also make it easier to update benefits online and is designed to improve the checkout experience at WIC-approved grocery stores across the state.

"Louisiana WIC is committed to ensuring that every eligible family can access the nutritious foods, nutrition education and community resources they need as easily and conveniently as possible," said Tonya Joiner, assistant secretary for the Office of Public Health. "This transition modernizes how benefits are delivered and managed, improves flexibility for participants and helps us better serve families across Louisiana."

WIC clinics have already started handing out the new cards during regularly scheduled appointments. WIC-approved grocery stores statewide will begin accepting the new cards on Aug. 1.

Participants who receive their new card before Aug. 1 should keep using their current card through July 31. Before shopping with the new card for the first time, participants need to set a PIN by calling the number on the back of the card or using the myWIC mobile app.

Louisiana WIC will continue sharing updates through text messages, the myWIC app and WIC clinics throughout the transition. More information is available here.