The food packages accounted for over two-thirds of total WIC costs in fiscal 2014. WIC offers participants supplemental food packages containing specific types and quantities of foods tailored to the nutritional needs of the program’s target population. Food Packages Are the Cornerstone of WICĪn average of 8.9 million people participated in WIC each month in fiscal 2012, including over half of all infants in the United States, and over a quarter of all pregnant and postpartum women and children up to age 5. To paint a more complete picture of WIC, ERS researchers looked at some of the indirect effects of WIC on nonparticipants. In general, these impacts have previously received little attention. WIC can also indirectly impact the food choices, diet, and health of nonparticipants, through its effects on retail food stores and food manufacturers. A comprehensive 2012 review of WIC research conducted for USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service-the agency responsible for administering the program-concluded that WIC participation directly impacts the health and nutrition of participants through improved diets (including increased iron density, fewer added sugars, and a greater variety of foods) and greater use of health care services. To fully evaluate the program, it is important to account for all the program’s effects-direct and indirect, intended and unintended, positive as well as negative. The reauthorization process provides policymakers an important opportunity to reexamine the operation and effectiveness of the program and consider improvements. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which authorized funds for WIC, is set to expire on September 30, 2015.
With Federal expenditures of over $6 billion in fiscal 2014, WIC is the Nation’s third-largest food and nutrition assistance program, trailing only the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the National School Lunch Program. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) helps safeguard the health of nutritionally at risk low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, as well as infants and children younger than 5 years of age, by providing a package of supplemental foods, nutrition education, and referrals to health care. WIC program regulations may have had the unintended effect of raising prices and limiting availability of non-WIC brands of infant formula in some retail food stores. To qualify as WIC-eligible, some foods had to be reformulated, which has increased the nutrient quality of some foods purchased by WIC and non-WIC customers. Requirements that WIC-authorized stores stock a minimum variety and quantity of WIC foods increases availability of healthy foods in some small WIC and non-WIC stores.
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