Like most of the crowd that came to Wednesday's lunch, Doris Ann Donovan was astonished by what she was eating.

The tasty tidbits, that included bean and veggie wraps, chicken nuggets, meatballs, brownies, cookies and fresh fruits and vegetables, were part of the new lineup of foods being offered by the Women, Infants, and Children program.

The event — called A Taste of WIC — was hosted by the Scotland County Health Department to showcase WIC foods coming out in October.

After dipping into the meatballs that were made with ground beef and Multi-Bran Chex cereal, Donovan said she had been won over. The cereal is a newly approved WIC ingredient for meals.

"The food is 100 percent better than it used to be," she said. "It's tasty and it's something children will eat."

About 250 people, including mothers or mothers-to-be, attended the event at the Health Department.

"With this event today we are just showcasing the new WIC products," WIC Director and Breastfeeding Coordinator Cardra Burns said. "Each food item here today was made with WIC ingredients."

Brady's Flowers and Catering provided the food for the event. Each recipe had WIC approved ingredients like Wheaties or Tofu to name a few.

Dorothy Fields an employee at the Health Department said the WIC program has changed a lot over the years.

"When my children were young, you couldn't get things like Welch's 100 percent White Grapefruit Juice...all we got were pinto beans," she said. "It is fantastic that mother's and children can get what they need now on the WIC program."

Director of the Scotland County Health Department Ron Sapp praised both Burns and the program.

"The WIC Program here in Scotland County is really doing a good job on educating women and their children as well as the community regarding good food nutrition," he said. "Candra is doing a great job."

Area women who are pregnant, who have recently given birth, or who have infants or children up to five years of age may be eligible for the Women, Infants, and Children program, a federally-funded health and nutrition service administered locally through the Scotland County Health Department. The program provides free, supplemental nutritious foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding education and support, and referrals to health care and social services to those who qualify for the program, according to Burns.

For information or to make an appointment, visit the Scotland County Health Department at 1405 West Boulevard, Laurinburg, NC or call 277-2440.

Eligibility requirements are that the applicant:

Be a pregnant woman, a breastfeeding woman who has delivered a baby within the last 12 months, a woman who has delivered within the last six months, an infant, or a child up to the fifth birthday.

Provide proof of North Carolina residence and live in the health delivery area of the WIC agency.

Meet the income eligibility scale; the gross annual household income cannot exceed 185 percent of the federal poverty income guidelines. All medicaid, food stamp and work first recipients automatically meet the WIC income eligibility requirements.

Have an identified nutritional risk as determined by a health professional. Nutritional problems include anemia, poor growth, previous poor pregnancy outcome, inadequate dietary intake and other nutritionally related health problems.