Construction of New WIC Program Building On Schedule

US Virgin Islands — Commissioner of Health, Justa E. Encarnacion is especially pleased to announce that the new Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) building on St. Thomas is on schedule.

The attached photos demonstrate the progress being made by J. Benton Construction as the foundation work is being completed.

The building’s construction, valued at $3.7 million dollars, began shortly after the official groundbreaking ceremony on September 28, 2022. The Governor Albert Bryan and Lt. Governor Tregenza Roach administration look forward to the building’s completion in September 2023. Funding for the project comes from the original $6,313,056 grant provided to the Department of Health by the August 2018 US Department of Agriculture Award pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (P.L. 115-123).

In the St. Thomas/St. John District the V.I. WIC program serves 1,270 low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, infants and children up to age five. Program participants receive supplemental foods, nutrition and breastfeeding education at no cost, and referrals to other health and social services programs. Services provided through the WIC Program are 100 percent federally funded.

The Virgin Islands Department of Health (VIDOH) was one of the first programs in the country to participate in the original pilot project which later was officially established as the WIC Program in 1974. The VIDOH WIC Program is more than 50 years old and is one of the oldest programs in the nation.