The WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2012: Food Package Report is a supplement to the WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2012 biennial report. The Food Package Report describes the content of WIC food packages based on information on the packages or prescriptions issued to WIC participants in April 2012. This report is a new report and should be of interest to researchers at USDA, academics, and others who study or have interest in the WIC program and nutrition.
This report offers updated estimates of the number of people eligible for WIC benefits in 2011, including (1) estimates by participant category (including children by single year of age) and coverage rates; (2) updated estimates in U.S. territories; and (3) confidence intervals. The national estimates presented in this report are based on a methodology developed in 2003 by the Committee on National Statistics of the National Research Council (CNSTAT).
The 1996 study of WIC program and participant characteristics, like PC92 and PC94, is substantially different from earlier efforts to collect data on WIC participants. PC96 employs the prototype reporting system which was developed by FNS for the collection of participant information from state WIC agencies.