A Food Program for Women and Children Is About to Get More Federal Support

Unlike SNAP, WIC has a smaller budget, and less of a spotlight. Now, Congress and the USDA are working to address food insecurity in families head-on by investing in and modernizing the program.

By Lisa Held for Civil Eats. Patricia Collins lives in Georgetown, South Carolina, and works at a grocery store. The 58-year-old’s own children are adults, but she’s now raising her 3-year-old granddaughter on a tight budget. Using benefits provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), Collins buys her granddaughter milk, bread, peanut butter, vegetables, and more.

“Food is expensive,” she said. “The WIC program, with the type of food I can get for her, it helps. She’s a healthy little girl.”

Unlike the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s (SNAP) broad approach to alleviating hunger for all Americans, WIC is targeted, limited to specific nutritious foods, and includes health screenings and nutrition education. Over the past decade, between 6 and 9 million mothers and children like Collins’ granddaughter received benefits each year, including close to half of the infants born annually in the U.S. But because the program is tiny compared to SNAP—in 2020, WIC costs were $5 billioncompared to SNAP’s $79 billion—it has rarely been in the spotlight.

Now, with the pandemic and a new administration in Washington, that’s starting to change.

In early March, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack mentioned WIC repeatedly during a press event in which his message centered on expanding the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) approach to food insecurity to include an emphasis on what he called “nutrition insecurity.” He cited data indicating that only half of the individuals eligible for WIC are participating and said getting them “on board” was crucial to help vulnerable populations during critical periods.

“It’s women, infants, and children,” Vilsack said. “That is an incredibly important subset where we really have to focus, because if kids start off well, if they get the proper nutrition and begin to learn at a very early age the opportunities for nutritious, delicious food that involves fruits and vegetables and whole grains and so forth, then, over time, they become consumers of those products.”

The American Rescue Plan Act passed by Congress in March included $880 million to temporarily boost WIC benefits during the pandemic, while also investing in long-term upgrades. And at the end of last month, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry held a hearing to kick off the long-overdue Child Nutrition Reauthorization (CNR) process, during which WIC was a central focus alongside changes to school meal programs.

Many Washington insiders did not expect Congress to take up CNR this year, given the Biden administration’s ambitious legislative agenda on pandemic relief, infrastructure, and climate change, but food insecurity, health, and disease risk—especially for low-income families and BIPOC communities—have taken center stage during the pandemic. At the same time, social distancing disruptions have led to long-overdue changes to WIC operations, including new digital program components and the possibility of virtual appointments, experts say.

“[The pandemic presented] a chance to revisit how we deliver services and how our services fit in with broader nutrition assistance. And the shift from food security to nutrition security is really demonstrative of a recognition that the food that we provide families . . . has an impact on the healthcare system and healthcare costs,” said Brian Dittmeier, senior public policy counsel at the National WIC Association (NWA). “This year is really an inflection point for the WIC program.”

How WIC Works

The USDA began operating WIC through state agencies in 1974, and it’s currently the third-largest federal nutrition program after SNAP and the National School Lunch Program. From the beginning, it was set up to provide food and nutrition assistance to mothers during and after pregnancy and children in their earliest years to improve infant and maternal mortality rates and support healthy growth and development.

“WIC really stands at the intersection of food insecurity and public health,” Dittmeier explained. “We’re not just a benefit program, we have integrated clinical services.”

Mothers qualify during pregnancy and for up to a year after, and children qualify until age five, with eligibility based on enrollment in other federal programs such as SNAP and Medicaid or by income and nutritional risk criteria. Health screenings—including blood tests that check metrics like iron levels—are required, and WIC counselors, many of them registered dietitians, also provide nutrition education and breastfeeding support.

Participants are assigned one of seven food packages and can spend their monthly benefits, about $40 on average, on a specific list of foods. The packages were updated in 2009 based on changes in the last CNR (which resulted in the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act) to include a range of healthy foods. Infants generally get formula and later, baby food, while older children can get foods including dairy products, eggs, fruits and vegetables, and whole wheat bread. Roughly 48,000 retail vendors accept WIC benefits (compared to 248,000 retailers that accept SNAP), 22 state agencies allow benefits to be redeemed at farmers’ markets, and the Farmers Market Nutrition Program provides recipients in some states with additional benefits to be spent on produce at markets, capped at $30 per year.

WIC’s impacts have been studied more than any other nutrition program. There is strong evidence that the program reduces the risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and infant mortality, and that the effect is even greater for Black infants. Research also shows WIC participation is associated with healthier diets for children, and that the 2009 changes led to increased intake of healthy foods including fruits and vegetables and whole grains.

Although studies show that mothers enrolled in WIC breastfeed at lower rates compared to non-participants, it’s unclear whether that is related to other differences in the population served by WIC. The program has made several changes since the early ‘90s to emphasize the benefits of breastfeeding and make the practice easier for participants. Between 1998 and 2018, the percentage of WIC moms who initiated breastfeeding has increased by 30 percent to 72 percent. That’s compared to an estimated 84 percent of infants nationally who have ever been breastfed.