FNS Documents & Resources

This report responds to the requirement of PL 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of state and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals.

The SNAP E&T pilot projects give Congress, USDA, and states the opportunity to test innovative strategies and approaches that connect low-income households to good paying jobs and thereby reduce their reliance on public assistance.

The biennial WIC Participant and Program Characteristics Report describes a census of all participants in WIC. The most recent report (PC 2016) reflects state management information systems data from April 2016, and this Food Package Report is a supplemental analysis of that data. While PC 2016 summarizes participant characteristics, this report summarizes the food packages, or prescriptions, that state agencies issued to these participants.

This report supplements FNS administrative data on food package 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 17 major categories of WIC-eligible foods in FY 2014. This report is an update to the previous WIC Food Package Cost Report for FY 2010.

Phase II was a methodological study, conducted in six sites during 2015–2016, to test an approach to determine its feasibility for a national evaluation.

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s 1990 WIC Medicaid Study I found that prenatal WIC participation was associated with improved birth outcomes and savings in Medicaid costs. A 2003 study by Buescher, et al., found that WIC participation during childhood was associated with increased health care utilization and Medicaid costs, and concluded that WIC enhanced children’s linkages to the health care system.

1939 – The First Food Stamp Program

Enrollment for the WIC Program in April 2002 totaled 8,016,916. Of this total, Hispanics accounted for 3,051,969 (38%), Whites 2,874,155 (36%), Blacks 1,621,914 (20%), Asian/Pacific Islanders 277,965 (4%), American Indian/Alaska Native 114,566 (1%).

Enrollment for the WIC Program in April 2004 totaled 8,586,487. Of this total, Hispanics accounted for 3,362,959 (39%), Whites 2,987,147 (35%), Blacks 1,715,294 (20%), Asian/Pacific Islanders 261,342 (3%), American Indian/Alaska Native 133,191 (2%).

Enrollment for the WIC Program in April 2006 totaled 8,772,216. Of this total, Whites accounted for 4,849,557 (55.28%), Blacks 1,715,433 (19.56%), American Indian 1,344,422 (15.33%), Multiple Race 256,244 (2.92%), Asian 255,629 (2.91%), Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 68,598 (.78%).