Onondaga County’s WIC (women, infant and children) program has relocated to a 7,000-square-foot space in the former Nojaim Brothers supermarket at 307 Gifford St. in Syracuse. It had previously operated at 375 W. Onondaga St. in Syracuse. The Nojaim Brother market closed in September 2017. (Eric Reinhardt / BJNN)
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Onondaga County’s WIC office and clinic have relocated to the former Nojaim Brothers supermarket at 307 Gifford St. on Syracuse’s Near Westside.
WIC, which is short for women, infants and children, previously operated at 375 W. Onondaga St. in Syracuse.
WIC is a program of the New York State Department of Health funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Onondaga County Health Department administers WIC under a contract with the state Health Department.
WIC is leasing about 7,000 square feet in the structure from building owner Paul Nojaim. The Nojaim Brothers market closed in September 2017.
Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon II and Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh joined Dr. Indu Gupta, Onondaga County Health Commissioner, at a Thursday ceremony for the new WIC office.
In speaking about the former Nojaim Brothers market, McMahon noted that “as times change, the purposes change.”
“What better message to send to the neighborhood that we’re still going to be helping provide healthy food and healthy opportunities in this building,” he said.
In his remarks, Walsh credited Nojaim for thinking about future possibilities for the location after the store closed. “He immediately started looking for other opportunities to help the neighborhood,” said Walsh
Nojaim had called Walsh about the WIC relocation about a year ago, he recalled.
Local WIC services
Besides the new WIC clinic at 307 Gifford St., WIC clinics also operate at various locations throughout Onondaga County, per a news release about the WIC relocation that McMahon’s office issued Thursday.
WIC is available for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and children under the age of five who meet income requirements. WIC provides eWIC cards (EBT) every month to buy healthy WIC foods and provides ideas on preparing healthy meals for families. WIC can also connect families with “other health care they may need,” per the news release. Onondaga County serves more than 9,000 WIC participants.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
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