More than half of the baby formula purchased in the U.S. The country’s infant formula crisis over the past several months has also thrust the program into the spotlight. Like nutrition requirements on school meals, the specifications are intended to promote health. “We are supportive of creating more choice within the food package, as long as the food package remains consistent and aligned with nutrition science,” says Brian Dittmeier, the senior director of public policy at the National WIC Association (NWA), a WIC advocacy group that lobbies for support for the program in Washington and works closely with state-level WIC administrators nationwide. The challenge, advocates say, will be ensuring that those changes don’t undermine WIC’s ability to deliver on its health outcomes. For example, one recommendation NASM made in a 2017 report intended to inform updates to WIC was to “encourage state agencies to authorize as many food options as feasible.” Similarly, the 2019 FRAC report on “making WIC work better” says that updates to the food packages should focus on “increasing participant choice and flexibility,” among other goals. Now, as resources and energy shift toward improving WIC’s reach and impact, policy experts and advocacy groups are talking about how to add more flexibility, choice, and ease to the program. The complicated requirements can also shut out smaller food companies, since only the most well-resourced food companies tend to have the resources necessary to manage (and lobby around) the requirements. In 2020, when the pandemic led to shortages of many items in grocery stores, WIC participants struggled to find approved foods on shelves. Nearly half of the people eligible for WIC don’t enroll, and a 2019 Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) report identified frustration with the limited range of approved foods and brands in some states as one of the main barriers to participation.

But the strict nutrition requirements and hyper-specificity of WIC-approved food shopping lists from state to state can also be confusing for those doing the shopping. For example, evidence that the program reduces the risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and infant mortality is strong. Using analyses done by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASM), the program targets specific nutrient deficiencies among American infants and their parents.Īdvocates say the focused nature is what makes it effective. But unlike Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which aims to reduce overall hunger, WIC is restrictive by design.

Many federal programs vary across the country due to differences in the way each state administers them. Using analyses done by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, WIC targets specific nutrient deficiencies among American infants and their parents.

Wic shopping list 2020