FY 2023 WIC Food Packages Research Grants and Symposium

Description

In November 2022, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published proposed changes to the food packages provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). These changes are intended to better align the WIC food packages with the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA, 2020-2025) and reflect recommendations made by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) in its 2017 report. FNS is currently reviewing public comments on the proposed rule and plans to publish a final rule that incorporates that information.

This request for applications (RFA) will provide $1,500,000 in federal funding, through a one-time cooperative agreement, to one external entity (institute of higher education or other non-profit research organization) that will ultimately provide grants to researchers to conduct pre- and post-implementation research around changes to the WIC food packages.

The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to better understand facilitators and barriers to implementation encountered by state/local programs, participants, and vendors and to generate evidence around implementation of the final changes to the WIC food packages rule. The goal of this work will be to assess the impacts of the recommended revisions to the WIC food packages on program satisfaction, program participation, availability and redemption of WIC foods, and participants’ diets and health.

Eligibility

Eligible external entities include accredited institutions of higher education (colleges/universities), nonprofit research organizations, and other nonprofit organizations or research institutions. All non-profit organizations must include their 501(c)(3) determination letter issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).