Starting Thursday, Hawai'i consumers who get help with their food budget through the Women Infants and Children program can pick up fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables as well as poi and tofu.

Whereas the program once emphasized whole milk, eggs, beans, peanut butter, cereal and cheese, its new menu follows the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Dietary Guidelines for Americans to combat obesity and reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

"This is the first major change in the WIC food package since the program's inception over 35 years ago," said WIC branch chief Linda Chock.

The expanded offerings are more culturally sensitive, lower in fat and higher in fiber than some of the old choices, she said. For example, the program will now include vouchers for brown rice, soy milk, tofu, whole wheat bread, soft corn tortillas and more canned fish choices. The new program also includes vouchers that can be used for fresh and frozen vegetables, including local favorites such as sweet potatoes, tomatoes and various greens.

Chock said the changes are important in Hawai'i, where the need for the program is greater than ever and where one in every three students entering kindergarten is overweight or obese.

Enrollment in the program rose to an all-time high in Hawai'i at 37,072 as of July, Chock said.

The program provides monthly vouchers for nourishing foods, and nutrition education and other help to women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or recently pregnant, and for infants and children under age 5 who meet income guidelines.

The federally funded program averages a $35 million annual budget here, with $31 million of that spent on food.

Shelley Chang-Purdy of Palolo is a full-time working mother of two small children who appreciates the help. She said the new foods make a good program even better.

"Times are hard right now," Chang-Purdy said. Fresh fruits, vegetables, rice and bread are things her family eats every day. "That's going to be a really big help."

While the update is part of a change nationwide, Chock said Hawai'i might be the only state adding poi to the list of approved foods.