This report offers updated estimates of the number of people eligible for WIC benefits in 2013, 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 report’s State-level estimates use a methodology developed by the Urban Institute that apportions the national figures using data from the American Community Survey.
WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2014 summarizes the demographic characteristics of participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children nationwide in April 2014. It includes information on participant income and nutrition risk characteristics, estimates breastfeeding initiation rates for WIC infants, and describes WIC members of migrant farm-worker families. PC 2014 is the most recent in a series of reports generated from WIC state management information system data biennially since 1992.
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.
At the request of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, an expert Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee is undertaking a comprehensive review of the food packages used in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to bring the program into alignment with current dietary guidelines. In this letter report, the first of three reports to result from this review, the IOM committee evaluates the 2009 regulation that excluded white potatoes from purchase with the WIC cash value voucher (CVV) and considers whether white potatoes should henceforth be allowed as a WIC-eligible vegetable in the CVV.
This report includes findings from formative research undertaken to help USDA assist child care providers in following the nutrition, physical activity, and electronic media use recommendations outlined in the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.
This report offers updated estimates of the number of people eligible for WIC benefits in 2012, 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 report’s State-level estimates use a methodology developed by the Urban Institute that apportions the national figures using data from the American Community Survey.
The WIC Participant and Program Characteristics (PC 2006) report summarizes demographic characteristics of WIC participants nationwide in April 2006, along with information on participant income and nutrition risk characteristics. A national estimate of breastfeeding initiation for WIC infants is included. The report also describes WIC members of migrant farm-worker families.
To assist nutrition educators in their use of relevant research, FNS conducted a review of studies on: Message framing, Use of interactive technology to tailor messages, and Intervention intensity. The review was intended to document how these specific features of nutrition messages and interventions influence the likelihood of promoting more healthful food choices.
The tables in this report summarize the asset and vehicle holdings of five low-income household groups by their food stamp asset and income eligibility status in September 2002.
This report is the first step in the developing recommendations for revision to the WIC food packages. It reviews the nutritional needs and assesses the dietary adequacy of the WIC target population and proposes priority nutrients and food groups and general nutrition recommendations for the WIC food packages. This is a report of the National Academies' Institute of Medicine (Food and Nutrition Board), published here by permission. It is also available on the Institute of Medicine website.