BRENTWOOD, Penn. – Stores that participate in the federal Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program have experienced a boost in their bottom line, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Nationally, the WIC program, which was created to help low-income moms and kids get better nutrition, has included more than 8.5 million women and children so far in 2016. About half of those in WIC are also part of the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP).

Currently, more than 48,000 retailers, including farmers markets, have received federal authorization to accept WIC vouchers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) changed its program to allow participants to redeem dollar amounts for produce to provide more flexibility.

A recent USDA study discovered stores with more than 50% of their annual food sales from WIC registered a 30% bump in overall sales. “The WIC people, they come in and they want to buy groceries; they’re no different from anyone else,” said Dave Chulak, general manager at the Brentwood Shop ‘n Save, which served around 990 WIC participants in 2015. “If you treat everyone right, they’re your customer and that’s the main thing for all this business.”

Over at the East Hills Giant Eagle, 85% of customers use SNAP; of that amount, 30% also belong to WIC, said Debbie Hickman, owner. “I believe in the WIC program and what they stand for,” Hickman said. “If the children get the nutrition they need at a young age, there will be less expense in health care down the line.”