WIC is not designed to be a disaster assistance program, and is, therefore, not considered a first response option for disaster survivors. WIC policies allow state agencies flexibility in program design and administration to support continuation of benefits to participants during times of natural or other disasters. WIC state agencies are encouraged to work with state and local emergency services offices, as well as FEMA, to assist participants during a disaster.
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.
This policy memorandum transmits the 2023-24 Income Eligibility Guidelines for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 provided USDA with $390 million, available through FY 2024, to carry out outreach, innovation, and program modernization efforts to increase participation and redemption of benefits for both the WIC program and the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program.
On March 3, 2023 FNS held a stakeholder briefing about the proposed rule to remove barriers to online ordering and internet-based transactions in WIC.
USDA proposed rule to streamline and modernize WIC and offer online shopping to participants. The proposed changes aim to ease stores’ administrative requirements, creates state positions to improve customer experience. Questions and answers regarding the proposed rule can be found on this page.
This letter provides WIC state agencies the opportunity to opt into waivers to modernize WIC through building or enhancing remote services.
On Nov. 8, 2022, FNS published WIC Policy Memorandum #2023-1 Abbott Infant Formula Waiver Expiration Schedule which extended active waivers to Jan. 31, 2023, or 60 days after the end of the Presidentially-declared COVID-19 major disaster declaration in the affected area, whichever is sooner. However, FNS recognizes that WIC state agencies may need additional flexibility to ensure uninterrupted access to infant formula for WIC families even as WIC state agencies transition back to normal operations. The intent of this policy memorandum is to formally describe the timeline for this transition, as previously described in the Dec. 19, 2022 letter to state agencies.
The FNS State Systems team has produced a series of training presentations designed to help state agencies understand and comply with the FNS approval process. These eight on-line presentations correspond to FNS Handbook 901, with information on the key documents or phases in the process.