FNS has invested $31.5 million into a 5-year Inter-Agency Agreement (IAA) with USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to develop and support the WIC workforce. This multi-year WIC workforce project will invest in research, education, and extension to address issues in the WIC workforce, with the ultimate goal of improving the WIC participant experience.
Supporting the WIC workforce will ensure that families receive timely, culturally relevant care from skilled WIC staff. In July 2023, USDA awarded a cooperative agreement to the University of Minnesota to develop a National WIC Workforce Strategy that will inform the remainder of this project. The strategy, released in May 2024, has informed two additional RFAs, also released in May 2024, to be awarded by the end of September.
Key Activities
WIC Workforce Development Initiative
Key Partners
Related resources
- Press Release: USDA Announces WIC National Strategy, $29M in Supporting Funding Opportunities to Strengthen WIC Workforce (5/23/24)
- National WIC Workforce Strategy (05/21/24)
- Request for Applications: Workforce - Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center (05/21/24)
- Request for Applications: Workforce - Implementation Projects (05/21/24)
- Press Release: FNS, NIFA Partner to Invest in a Strong and Diverse WIC Workforce (07/27/23)
- Request for Applications: WIC National Workforce Strategy Development (02/16/23)
- Press Release: FNS, NIFA Partner to Improve WIC Participant Outcomes by Investing in a Strong and Diverse Workforce (02/16/23)
- WIC Learning Online
- Value Enhance Nutrition Assessment in WIC
- WIC Works Resource System