In July of 2022, the Access to Baby Formula Act of 2022 was signed into law. This rule implements the provisions of ABFA and several other related changes to strengthen WIC’s ability to address certain disasters, emergencies, and supply chain disruptions, particularly those impacting infant formula.
Each year WIC announces the Loving Support Award of Excellence program, formerly known as the Loving Support Award of Excellence.
WIC Food and Nutrition Services and Administration grant levels by fiscal year and state agency. Grant levels for the current fiscal year are posted approximately 30 days after an agriculture appropriations bill has been signed into law and are updated quarterly and at fiscal year-end.
Since FY 2022, FNS has awarded over $9 million in grants to 37 State agencies to support WIC FMNP eSolutions.
The 2024 application period opens on Oct. 10, 2023 and closes on Dec. 15, 2023.
The USDA, FDA, and other federal partners continue to work diligently to protect the health infants who are fed using infant formula.
All WIC state agencies (SAs), including Indian Tribal Organizations and U.S. Territories, help to safeguard the health of WIC infants through oversight of WIC vendors in their purchase of infant formula. This includes ensuring WIC authorized vendors purchase infant formula only from the SA’s list of licensed wholesalers, distributors, retailers, and FDA-registered infant formula manufacturers. This oversight limits the risk of stolen or adulterated infant formula being sold to WIC participants.
As part of the WIC innovation and modernization efforts to be funded under ARPA, FNS is supporting planning and implementation projects focused on enhancements that improve the WIC participant experience, as evidenced by enhancing the WIC shopping experience, increasing participant enrollment, reducing unnecessary administrative burden for both participants and administrators, including through data matching to streamline enrollment, and retaining eligible participants while improving equity
This policy memorandum provides guidance on data sharing activities that support targeted outreach and streamlined certification processes aimed at increasing WIC participation and retention. It expresses USDA FNS support of data sharing, provides an overview of data sharing relevant to WIC, summarizes WIC program guidance on sharing confidential WIC participant data, and lays the groundwork for future guidance and resources to help WIC state agencies expand outreach and streamline the
certification process.
Pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age 5 are eligible. They must meet income guidelines, a state residency requirement, and be individually determined to be at "nutritional risk" by a health professional.