In 1994, FNS initiated the WIC Nutrition Education Demonstration Study. The demonstration had two components: a comparison of the effects of innovative and traditional WIC nutrition education for prenatal participants; and a study of the feasibility and effectiveness of providing nutrition education to preschool (three-and-four-year-old) WIC participants. The report summarized here describes the design and implementation of the child nutrition education demonstration and presents findings describing the effectiveness of the demonstration.

The WIC Nutrition Education Assessment Study was conducted by Abt Associates Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, under contract with the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The study was designed by FNS to fill several important gaps in information about the nutrition education component of the WIC Program.