A federally subsidized food and nutrition clinic at Hill Air Force Base in Ogden will close Oct. 1 because of a decline of participants.

Cheryl Clark, assistant director of the Davis County WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program, reported to the Davis County Health Department Tuesday morning that the WIC clinic on the base is serving half the number of participants it used to. The board approved Clark's request to close the base's clinic.Clark said the local program is not being terminated, but only moved to the Layton office, 360 S. Fort Lane. She said buses run between the base and Layton, a 10-mile round trip, for those qualifying women and children on the base.

At Tuesday's meeting, Clark said before Desert Storm, the base's WIC office served up to 600 people but now has only 350 participants.

"A lot of guys left and a lot of their wives didn't come back to them (after the war)," Clark said.

Another reason the clinic is closing is because a new commander at the family support center on base "doesn't seem to like us any more," Clark said.

She said the facilities are too small, the equipment is abused, and there is no place to lock up the food vouchers that are delivered from the main county office in Layton.

By transferring the services to Layton, the possibility of lost or stolen food vouchers is reduced, Clark said. The move also will decrease the paperwork done in the office.

"We're excited about the move because it's going to be easier for us to have everyone here," Clark said.

Clark said the WIC employees at the base will keep their jobs but will move to the Layton office.

Most of the base WIC participants haven't seemed to care about the move because Layton is close and has larger facilities, Clark said.

"Many who live on the base prefer to go to Layton, anyway," Clark said.

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Clark said 50 percent of base clients don't show up for their appointments, and rescheduling is difficult because the clinic is open only two days a week.

"This way if they miss an appointment, they can go any day," Clark said.

WIC clinics have two purposes, Clark said. The program gives qualified participants food vouchers specifically for items to supplement an inadequate diet, such as milk, eggs, cheese, cereal, juice and baby formula. It also educates its participants in nutrition by requiring them to attend at least two nutrition classes every six months in order to be recertified for the vouchers.

Any infant or child up to the age of five qualifies for the program. Women who have a low income and are at nutritional risk qualify. "Nutritional risk" women includes those who are pregnant, breast feeding and post-partum.

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