The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) serves about half of all infants born in the United States.1 WIC benefits provide healthy foods and nutrition education to qualifying pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age 5. WIC also promotes breastfeeding, supports nursing mothers, and provides healthcare and social-service referrals.2
In November 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed updates for the WIC food packages that aim to help families purchase more nutritious foods, like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. The proposed changes would:
- Increase the fruit and vegetable benefit, taking it from about $10 per person per month, to $25 per child and about $45 per adult.
- Update the food package to align with the latest nutritional science; the last time this was done was almost 15 years ago.
- Allow for a wider range of culturally relevant whole-grain options, like teff, corn meal, quinoa, naan, and more.
USDA’s proposed rule is available for public comment until February 21, 2023. This is an opportunity for WIC providers, participating families, advocates and community partners to offer insights about how to improve the WIC food packages—and urge USDA to finalize this rule as quickly as possible to ensure that WIC families have access to updated food packages.
If you would like to submit a comment, visit the National WIC Association website for resources and a simple comment template form that can be tailored to reflect the issues that are most important to you.
