The WIC Food Cost-Containment Practices Study describes the voluntarily approaches state agencies used in 2018 to reduce food costs when selecting and authorizing WIC foods. This study is the second of its kind; the first was conducted by the USDA Economic Research Service in 2003. This report examines how six types of food cost-containment practices are associated with food costs and WIC participant satisfaction, benefit redemption, and food consumption in 12 state agencies. 

USDA's nutrition assistance programs touch the lives of one in four American consumers annually and the nutrition education efforts associated with select programs offer a powerful opportunity to promote food security and improve dietary quality among eligible individuals and families.

​​This report supplements FNS administrative data on total food costs by estimating the average monthly food costs for each WIC participant category and food package type. It also estimates total pre- and post-rebate dollars spent on 18 major categories of WIC-eligible foods in FY 2018.

The biennial WIC Participant and Program Characteristics Report describes a census of all participants in WIC. The most recent report (PC 2016) reflects state management information systems data from April 2016, and this Food Package Report is a supplemental analysis of that data. While PC 2016 summarizes participant characteristics, this report summarizes the food packages, or prescriptions, that state agencies issued to these participants.

This report supplements FNS administrative data on food package costs by estimating the average monthly food costs for each WIC participant category and food package type. It also estimates total pre- and post-rebate dollars spent on 17 major categories of WIC-eligible foods in FY 2014. This report is an update to the previous WIC Food Package Cost Report for FY 2010.

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 Nutrition Services and Administration cost study examines how program funds are expended by state and local agencies to support the management and operation of WIC. The study analyzed data from a national survey of state and local agencies, cases studies, and FY 2013 WIC administrative data.

The WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study 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.

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.