VIDEO: 'André Wouldn't Be As Healthy Without WIC'

 Being a mom is hard.

Now imagine being a mom and not being able to afford nutritious food for your only child, a smiley boy born with a severe health problem. Now add to that being homeless and 17 years old, and you might begin to imagine how Alli Morris feels.

Luckily, there are people and programs helping Alli and her son André. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) safeguards the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 by providing monthly packages of food that supply nutrients lacking in their diets. WIC has been an invaluable program for Alli and her son.

"André wouldn't be as healthy as he is without WIC because he wouldn't have had everything he needed when he needed it," said Alli, who graduated from high school in June 2011 and now works as a bank teller. "I don't think I would have been able to supply all that."

Watch the video below to learn more about Alli and André.

Photo caption: Alli Morris feeds her son, André. She's able to provide nutritious foods for André because of a U.S. government program that safeguards the health of low-income women, infants, and children by providing monthly packages of food that supply nutrients lacking in their diets. (Photo from video by Brad Horn for Bread for the World.)

Laura Elizabeth Pohl is multimedia manager at Bread for the World. You can follow her on Twitter at @lauraepohl.

+Learn more about the mini-campaign on domestic nutrition programs for the 2012 Offering of Letters.