What is WIC?
Photo Credit © DimaSobko on Canva.The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a federal program that improves the health and nutrition of low-income mothers and children in America. It does this by providing food, formula, education, health screenings and referrals to pregnant & post-partum women, as well as their children under five [FN1]
WIC was established in 1972 as an amendment to the 1966 Child Nutrition Act and made permanent in 1974. The program is run by Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), a division of the USDA .
Here we’ll discuss how it works, who’s eligible and the impact of COVID-19 on WIC operations.
How WIC Works
Women who follow a nutritious diet during pregnancy fare better before and after birth, while children who receive adequate nutrition and medical care early in life typically grow taller and perform better in school [FN2]. The aim of WIC is to safeguard the health and wellbeing of these populations by providing support, education and nutrition assistance.
In addition to the in-clinic counseling and health checks, WIC provides paper checks, vouchers or electronic benefits (EBT) cards for participants to purchase nutrient-dense food at their local grocer. According to the USDA website, some 46,000 merchants accept WIC vouchers for a wide variety of foods including: infant formula, fortified cereals, bread, fruits, vegetables, dairy, eggs, tofu, beans, nuts/nut butters and canned fish [FN3,FN4].
Is WIC Effective?
During the 2018 fiscal year, 6.87 million women and children received WIC assistance each month, making it the third most utilized food program in the United States [FN5]. Encouragingly, research also shows it is one of the most cost-effective and successful nutrition assistance programs in our nation’s history [FN4].
Many studies suggest that the assistance WIC provides to low-income women and children is essential to both their short- and long-term health and wellbeing. It helps them meet nutritional needs which, in turn, reduces the infant mortality rate and leads to improved cognitive development and academic achievement.
For example, research conducted in 2018 at Iowa University found that participation in WIC “reduces the prevalence of unhealthy birthweight by at least 21 percent” [FN6]. Mothers enrolled in WIC are also more likely to receive prenatal care and breastfeed their babies, while children are more likely to receive immunizations and less likely to experience nutritional deficiencies (e.g. iron-deficient anemia) [FN2].
Research analyst Steven Carlson summed it up well when he said, “WIC provides nutritious foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and referrals to health care and social services for millions of low-income families, and it plays a crucial role in improving lifetime health for women, their infants, and young children” [FN7].
WIC Eligibility
Individuals who want to apply for WIC must be assessed by a healthcare professional and deemed nutritionally at risk, plus meet income guidelines and state residency requirements.
Women may be deemed “nutritionally at risk” due to either:
Diet-based risk (Food Insecure or not meeting dietary needs for another reason), or
Medical-based risk (e.g. anemic, underweight, history of pregnancy complications) [FN4]
Unlike SNAP and other federal nutrition assistance programs, WIC only benefits new mothers and young children. This program is specifically available to:
Pregnant women
New mothers (for up to six months if the infant is exclusively formula-fed or one year if baby is breastfed), and
Nutritionally at-risk children under five.
How to Apply
While WIC is funded by the federal government, the program relies on state agencies to determine participant eligibility and authorize vendors to provide benefits and services. As a result, WIC applications are submitted directly to state agencies. Here is a list, compiled by the USDA, of individual state agencies that administer the WIC program.
In most states, you can apply either online or over the phone. After the application processes, your local WIC office will contact you to schedule an initial appointment and determine eligibility.
If you or someone you know could benefit from WIC assistance, click here for more information.
The Effects of COVID-19 on WIC
With COVID-19 rendering many American’s unable to work, and thus unable to provide for themselves and their families, the WIC program has seen a massive influx in the number of applications.
Many people who did not need assistance before are now coping with sudden financial insecurity and may benefit from their local WIC program. For this reason, informational resources surrounding WIC benefits and enrollment are more essential than ever.
Moreover, many shoppers who rely on WIC to provide nutritious foods for their families are having trouble finding the foods they need [FN8]. Across the country, panic-stricken shoppers have depleted stores’ inventories and made items like bread, milk and canned goods essentially unavailable to program participants. This is because WIC has strict guidelines about which foods beneficiaries can purchase, so if an allowed item (e.g. a specific brand of cereal) is sold out they cannot simply pick another one.
Thankfully, many states are remedying these scarcity issues by temporarily allowing the substitution of different products not traditionally available through WIC. For example, according to Utah.gov, new substitutions are available for products like eggs, yogurt, milk, and bread [FN9]. The USDA website also provides a state-by-state breakdown of allowed food substitutions here.
Resources
1. https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/about-wic
2. https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/about-wic-how-wic-helps
3. https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/about-wic-wics-mission
4. https://fns-prod.azureedge.net/sites/default/files/wic/wic-fact-sheet.pdf
5. https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/frequently-asked-questions-about-wic
6. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1055&context=econ_workingpapers
8. https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article241456946.html
9. https://wic.utah.gov/coronavirus-wic-update/