(McClatchy-Tribune Information Services) -- Beginning today, participants in the Women, Infants and Children supplemental nutrition program will be able to use food vouchers to buy fruits, veggies, whole grains and breads, and proteins such as canned beans.

It's the first major change to the program in nearly three decades. Several states, including Colorado, made the change earlier this year, but all 50 states and American Indian tribal territories now have to be in compliance.

The WIC program had limited voucher purchases to milk, cheese, eggs, juice, cereals and dried beans or peanut butter. The government revised the program for needy families to reflect updated U.S. dietary guidelines and infant-feeding recommendations and to allow for more choices at the grocery store, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food & Nutrition Service.

"It's a big deal. The program now provides foods more indicative of the nutrients needed for good health and gives us an opportunity to talk about key nutrition messages: Eat more fruits and vegetables, increase whole grains and fiber and breastfeed your infants," said Vicki Flores, WIC program manager for the El Paso County Department of Health and Environment.

Under the new regulations, the program also reduces the amount of milk, cheese and eggs that people can buy with vouchers, and stipulates that only 1-percent or fat-free milk be allowed for women and children ages 2 and older.

The program, designed for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women and their children up to 5 years old, is funded by the federal government and administered at the state level. According to the USDA, 8.7 million people got WIC benefits each month in 2008. About 4.33 million were children, 2.22 million were infants and 2.15 million were women.

Local numbers have been climbing because of the poor economy, Flores said, and hit a record of 15,453 participants in August, compared with 14,855 last August.

The local office distributed $3.1 million in WIC food vouchers for the fiscal year that ended Wednesday, and expects similar funding for the fiscal year that begins today, Flores said.

Copyright (C) 2009, The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.