This report is a census of women, infants, and children who were participating in the WIC program in April, 2012. The report includes information on participant income and nutrition risk characteristics, and estimates breastfeeding initiation rates for WIC infants.
This study is part of a larger FNS effort to ensure WIC program integrity and to comply with the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002 which requires FNS to estimate improper payments in its programs.
WIC provides free, healthy foods and personalized nutrition education, breastfeeding support, referrals to other services and more.
The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) is managing a small-grants research program, funded by FNS. Through a competitive process, UCLA awarded seven grants in June 2012.
This report estimates the average monthly food costs for each of 5 WIC participant subgroups and estimates total dollars spent on 17 major categories of WIC-eligible foods in FY 2010. The participant and food level costs in this report are USDA’s first estimates since implementation of the 2009 WIC food package changes.
USDA distributes USDA Foods to food banks, soup kitchens, disaster feeding organizations, Indian Tribal Organizations, charitable institutions and other feeding organizations, helping families stretch their food budgets and ensuring that all Americans have healthy foods within reach.
This report offers updated estimates of the population that met these criteria and was eligible for WIC benefits in 2010. This report includes (1) estimates of the number of eligibles (including children by single year of age) and coverage rates; (2) updated estimates in U.S. territories; and (3) confidence intervals.
Since 1992, FNS has produced biennial reports on WIC participant and program characteristics based on the WIC Minimum Data Set compiled from state management information systems. The 20 items included in the MDS are collected as part of ongoing WIC operations and consist primarily of in formation related to participant eligibility.
This is a report of the National Academies' Institute of Medicine (Food and Nutrition Board), published here by permission.