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 main objectives of this report are to describe how Loving Support© Peer Counseling is currently implemented in WIC state agencies and local agencies; and to draw comparisons with the program’s implementation in 2008, when the last study was conducted. 

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.

The WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study 2 (WIC ITFPS-2)/ “Feeding My Baby” Study is designed to describe the feeding practices used by caregivers and measure the nutrition outcomes of children who participate in WIC. The study uses a longitudinal design; caregivers respond to surveys periodically from a prenatal interview through the infant’s third birthday. This study will provide a series of reports. The current report presents results from the prenatal survey.

FNS funded the WIC Breastfeeding Policy Inventory (WIC BPI) to collect data on breastfeeding policies and practices, as well as the breastfeeding measures in use by SAs and LAs. The WIC BPI was a census of the 90 WIC State agencies (including Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) and U.S. Territories) and the approximately 1,800 local WIC agencies.

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.

This report is a census of women, infants, and children who were participating in the WIC program in April, 2012. The report includes information on participant income and nutrition risk characteristics, and estimates breastfeeding initiation rates for WIC infants.

This report is a census of women, infants, and children who were participating in the WIC program in April, 2012. The report includes information on participant income and nutrition risk characteristics, and estimates breastfeeding initiation rates for WIC infants.

This report estimates the average monthly food costs for each of 5 WIC participant subgroups and estimates total dollars spent on 17 major categories of WIC-eligible foods in FY 2010. The participant and food level costs in this report are USDA’s first estimates since implementation of the 2009 WIC food package changes.

In 2006, FNS asked the Institute of Medicine to review the WIC food packages. The IOM proposed major changes to improve nutrition and encourage breastfeeding but also expressed the concern that changes related to partial breastfeeding may have unintended consequences. The IOM recommended that FNS conduct an impact study evaluating the birth month breastfeeding changes to the WIC food packages.