WIC Food Packages: Time for a Change Committee to Review the WIC Food Packages

For more than 30 years, the WIC program (the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children of the United States Department of Agriculture) has provided foods that supplement the diets of millions of low-income women, infants, and children. The WIC program has been very successful, particularly in improving nutrient intakes among participants. In early 2004, the Institute of Medicine formed a committee to review the WIC program’s current supplemental food packages and determine if a redesign could help participating families eat a healthier diet. The committee considered dietary and health data on low-income women, infants, and children; dietary guidance from the Dietary Reference Intakes and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans; current dietary guidance for feeding infants and young children; and public comments from stakeholders such as WIC program staff, advocacy groups, and WIC participants. The following six criteria were used to revise the food packages: 1. The package reduces the prevalence of inadequate and excessive nutrient intakes in participants. 2. The package contributes to an overall dietary pattern that is consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans for individuals two years of age and older. 3. The package contributes to an overall diet that is consistent with established dietary recommendations for infants and children less than two years of age, including encouragement of and support for breastfeeding. 4. Foods in the package are available in forms suitable for lowincome persons who may have limited transportation, storage, and cooking facilities. 5. Foods in the package are readily acceptable, widely available, and commonly consumed; take into account cultural food preferences; and provide incentives for families to participate in the WIC program. 6. Foods proposed consider the impacts that changes in the package will have on vendors and WIC agencies. The committee’s recommendations were presented in the report, WIC Food Packages: Time for a Change. The report recommended revisions to the food packages that match current dietary guidance for infants and young children, encourage consumption of fruits and vegetables, emphasize whole grains, lower saturated fat, and appeal to diverse populations. More fruits and vegetables have been added Families at all income levels should provide more fruits and vegetables to their children in ways that build healthy eating patterns. To help low-income families accomplish this goal, the committee recommended that food packages include baby food fruits and vegetables for older infants, cash-value vouchers for $8 per month for children, and cash-value vouchers for $10 per month for women. The cash-value vouchers would be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables and participants could choose from a wide variety of produce. When fresh produce is not feasible, choices of canned, dried, or frozen fruits and vegetables would be allowed. The committee made only one restriction — that white potatoes not be allowed since most Americans do not need encouragement to consume the maximum recommendation of one serving of potatoes per day. Whole grains are emphasized