This report, the latest in a series of annual reports on WIC eligibility, presents 2021 national and state estimates of the number of people eligible for WIC benefits and the percents of the eligible population and the US population covered by the program, including estimates by participant category.
The Summer Food Service Program Integrity Study was designed to improve understanding of how state agencies provide oversight of the SFSP. To address the research objectives, the study examined such areas as sponsor and site selection, training and technical assistance, meal counting and claiming, and reviews. The findings, based on data collected in 2021, also offered some preliminary responses about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SFSP operations.
On Dec. 23, 2022, Congress authorized Summer EBT as a permanent, nationwide program. FNA is quickly developing more guidance on Summer EBT, and we look forward to working with our partners in states and local communities as we implement this program.
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted school meal operations and has contributed to lasting supply chain issues affecting the cost and availability of food and labor. The School Food Authority Survey II on Supply Chain Disruption and Student Participation was administered to all SFAs operating child nutrition programs in schools to gather information on the impacts of continued supply chain disruptions and the return to standard operations during SY 2022–23.
USDA has established procedures to annually collect and publish the paid lunch prices charged by school food authorities.
This data collection fulfills states’ reporting requirements and describes trends in program participation during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is part of an ongoing study series examining CN program operations, repurposed to collect waiver reports from all states.
This report responds to House Report 117-82, which directs the USDA to publish state-level estimates of the percentage of pregnant women, infants, and children under age five participating in FNA’s SNAP or in Medicaid but not participating in WIC.
The physical presence waiver, issued under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, allowed WIC state and local agencies to remotely certify participants into WIC during the COVID-19 pandemic. This report summarizes data collected from surveys of WIC state and local agencies about the use of the physical presence waiver and the impact it had on WIC services.
Under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, the USDA FNA issued certain programmatic waivers to state agencies to support continued access to WIC services and provide flexibilities to some administrative requirements. This brief report summarizes findings about the use and impact of these waivers from surveys of WIC state and local agencies.