This report, in the WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study 2 (WIC ITFPS-2)/ “Feeding My Baby” Study analyzes the long-term impact of the USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) by gathering information on caregivers and children over the first nine years of the child's life after enrollment in WIC, regardless of their continued participation in the program.
The 2023 Farm to School Census collected information on farm to school participation by school food authorities (SFAs) in school year 2022–23. Every SFA participating in the National School Lunch Program in the 50 states, Washington, DC, and five territories received an online survey asking about the farm to school activities they participated in, details of their participation, and their perspectives on farm to school.
The Farm to School Census and Comprehensive Review includes the 2019 Farm to School Census; a descriptive review of the USDA Farm to School grant program; a review of published research on farm to school since 2010; and a set of interviews with school food distributors.
Phase II was a methodological study, conducted in six sites during 2015–2016, to test an approach to determine its feasibility for a national evaluation.
The USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s 1990 WIC Medicaid Study I found that prenatal WIC participation was associated with improved birth outcomes and savings in Medicaid costs. A 2003 study by Buescher, et al., found that WIC participation during childhood was associated with increased health care utilization and Medicaid costs, and concluded that WIC enhanced children’s linkages to the health care system.
The WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study 2 (WIC ITFPS-2)/ “Feeding My Baby” Study captures data on caregivers and their children over the first 5 years of the child’s life after WIC enrollment to address a series of research questions regarding feeding practices, associations between WIC services and those practices, and the health and nutrition outcomes of children receiving WIC.
The WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study 2 (WIC ITFPS 2), "Feeding My Baby Study" captures data on WIC caregivers and their children over the first 5 years of each child’s life to address a series of research questions regarding feeding practices, the effect of WIC services on those practices, and the health and nutrition outcomes of children on WIC. Additionally, the study assesses changes in behaviors and trends that may have occurred over the past 20 years by comparing findings to the WIC Infant Feeding Practices Study–1, the last major study of the diets of infants on WIC. This study will provide a series of reports. The current report focuses on breastfeeding intention, initiation and duration, and the introduction of complementary foods.
The WIC Nutrition Education Study (NEST) provides detailed information on WIC nutrition education services and includes the following two phases:
-- Phase I: Comprehensive nationally representative description of WIC nutrition education processes and features.
-- Phase II: Pilot study of the impact of WIC nutrition education on nutrition and other behaviors in six WIC sites.
This report presents the Phase I results of the study.
In 2007, USDA introduced a new set of food packages via an Interim Rule based on recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, which were implemented by October 2009. The contents of the food packages were finalized via a Final Rule in 2014. The Final Rule clarified some provisions in the Interim Rule and allowed some additional options and substitutions.
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.