Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a federal assistance initiative aimed at improving the nutritional health of low-income pregnant and breastfeeding women, as well as children under the age of five. Established in 1972, WIC operates under the Food and Nutrition Service and seeks to address food insecurity and promote health among vulnerable populations. Eligibility typically extends to families with incomes at or below 185% of the federal poverty level, and participation in programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) can also qualify individuals for WIC.
WIC provides participants with benefits in the form of vouchers or electronic cards, which can be redeemed for specific foods that support maternal and child health, such as milk, eggs, fruits, and vegetables. The program has demonstrated significant cost-effectiveness by reducing prenatal and infant healthcare costs and improving health outcomes, including lowering the rates of low birth-weight infants. Ongoing evaluations and updates to the program ensure that the food options available reflect current scientific research and nutritional guidelines. Overall, WIC plays a crucial role in safeguarding the health of mothers and young children, showcasing the broader impact of targeted nutritional support on public health.
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is an assistance program provided to low-income pregnant or breast-feeding women, and children under the age of five, under the auspices of the Food and Nutrition Service. The program was created in 1972 as an amendment to the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, and has significantly reduced overall prenatal and infant healthcare costs as well as reducing the prevalence of low birth-weight newborns and elevating infant well-being. There are a number of criteria for eligibility, but in general, a family with an income of 185 percent of the federal poverty level or less qualifies for WIC.
Overview
The Food and Nutrition Service was established in 1969 as part of the Department of Agriculture, bringing several Depression-era programs under a single federal agency to fight hunger in the United States. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson had declared a "War on Poverty," implementing a number of programs meant to address income inequality and the needs of the poor, including hunger remediation programs like the Food Stamp Program, later known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). WIC was adopted after Johnson’s presidency, during the Nixon administration, but was part of an ongoing effort that Johnson had begun.
When the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare met with a group of physicians to consult on the problem of hunger, the doctors pointed out the effects of hunger on pregnant women and young mothers. This initially led to a short-lived program of USDA food commissaries, distributing "prescribed foods" to women in need, referred from neighborhood clinics. The commissaries were phased out by the time the WIC program began.
The WIC program operates on a similar principle to food stamp programs, in that it provides a credit (originally a check or voucher, now more commonly an electronic card) that is redeemable only for a specific category of items. WIC-eligible items include a specific list of foods that promote maternal, infant, and toddler health; the specific number of items allotted to the recipient depends on age.
The specificity of the WIC program and the extent to which it has been tailored toward a specific end (maternal and child health) has made it one of the most cost-efficient government assistance programs; analyses have repeatedly confirmed that money spent on WIC results in savings for federal and state governments, hospitals, private industry, and insurers, well in excess of what was spent. The reasons for the program’s success are fairly simple and bear out the predictions of the doctors who initially advocated for the program’s adoption: the health and nutrition of the mother during pregnancy is one of the most cheaply controllable factors impacting the health of a newborn, and adequate nutrition in infancy is one of the most cheaply controllable factors impacting health later in life. Even a few dollars a week on eggs and milk over the course of early childhood can greatly reduce the odds of osteoporosis decades later, for instance—an investment that can save hundreds of thousands of dollars in health care, and improve quality of life.
The WIC program periodically re-evaluates its policies to reflect new scientific research and health recommendations. For example, in April 2024, the US Food and Nutrition Service, the part of the Department of Agriculture that oversees the WIC, announced expansions to the list of foods that could be prescribed to individuals receiving WIC benefits. These adjustments were based on scientific recommendations and provided for more variety in the food options, particularly fruits and vegetables, available to WIC participants.
Bibliography
Higham, Aliss. "SNAP Update as Benefits Extend to New Foods." Newsweek, 10 Apr. 2024, www.newsweek.com/snap-update-benefits-extended-new-foods-1888884. Accessed 29 May 2024.
Morrissey, Suzanne. Motherhood, Poverty, and the WIC Program in Urban America. Lanham: Lexington, 2015.
Saslow, Eli. American Hunger: The Pulitzer Prize–Winning Washington Post Series. New York: Vintage, 2014.
Segal, Elizabeth A. Empowerment Series: Social Welfare Policy and Social Programs. Boston: Cengage, 2015.
"Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)." United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, 17 May 2024, www.fns.usda.gov/wic. Accessed 29 May 2024.
"WIC: Solid Returns on Investment while Reducing the Deficit." National WIC Association. NWA, June 2015. Web. 19 Aug. 2016.