FNS Documents & Resources

The WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study 2 (WIC ITFPS-2)/ “Feeding My Baby” Study  captures data on caregivers and their children over the first 6 years of the child’s life after WIC enrollment to address a series of research questions regarding feeding practices, associations between WIC services and those practices, and the health and nutrition outcomes of children receiving WIC. To date, the study has produced three reports: the Intentions to Breastfeed Report (2015); the Infant Year Report (2017); and the Second Year Report (2018). The current report focuses on caregivers’ employment, school, and child care circumstances, as well as the feeding beliefs and practices, dietary intake, and weight status of children from birth through approximately 36 months of age.

This report, the latest in a series of annual reports on WIC eligibility, presents 2017 national and state estimates of the number of people eligible for WIC benefits and the percents of the eligible population and the US population covered by the program, including estimates by participant category.

The report also provides estimates by region, state, U.S. territory, and race and ethnicity

​​This report supplements FNS administrative data on total food costs by estimating the average monthly food costs for each WIC participant category and food package type. It also estimates total pre- and post-rebate dollars spent on 18 major categories of WIC-eligible foods in FY 2018.

The WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study 2 (WIC ITFPS-2)/ “Feeding My Baby” Study is the only national study to capture data on caregivers and their children over the first 6 years of the child's life regardless of their continued participation in WIC. Overall, the study examines child-feeding practices, associations between WIC services and those practices, and the health and nutrition outcomes of children who received WIC around birth. This report, the fifth in the series generated from this study, focuses on the dietary intake patterns and weight status of children during the fourth year of life. The report also examines families' WIC experiences and their perceptions of the program's impact.

This report, the latest in a series of annual reports on WIC eligibility, presents 2018 national and state estimates of the number of people eligible for WIC benefits and the percents of the eligible population and the US population covered by the program, including estimates by participant category. 

This report addresses actions taken by the Food and Nutrition Service to comply with the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2021 (PL 116-260, HR 116-446), which directs USDA to conduct a review of existing evidence and develop a plan to explore how participation in WIC is associated with maternal mortality, with emphasis on the needs of disadvantaged communities of color.

This study primarily uses 2011–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data to examine bivariate relationships between reported WIC participation and outcomes including diet quality, indicators of nutrition and health, food consumption patterns, and nutrient intakes among 1- to 4-year-old children. Most results presented in this report are unadjusted and descriptive only, and do not infer causality. They are intended to contribute to the evidence base needed to inform future research and, subsequently, WIC policy and practice.

The National Survey of WIC Participants (NSWP) study series is designed to describe state and local agency characteristics, examine participants’ characteristics, assess participants’ experiences with WIC, and estimate improper payments resulting from certification errors in WIC. The study is conducted approximately every 10 years, and the current study is the third iteration (NSWP-III) in the series. 

This preliminary report summarizes key changes, improvements, and challenges to WC operations as delivered under the physical presence and remote benefit issuance waivers during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings represent a first, high-level look at survey data collected from state and local WIC agencies to fulfill reporting requirements for waivers issued under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.

Since 1988, FNS has produced biennial reports on WIC participant and program characteristics (PC) for use in program monitoring and managing WIC information needs. The PC 2020 report summarizes demographic, income and health-related characteristics and behaviors of participants certified to receive WIC benefits in April 2020. As a response to COVID-19, the PC 2020 report also compares participant and program characteristics between participants certified to receive benefits in April 2020 and those certified to receive benefits in November 2020 in nine select state agencies.