Many families rely on infant formula to feed their babies. Infant formula can provide important nutrients for your baby’s growth and development. Some FNS programs – including CACFP, SNAP, and WIC – provide access to formula to support healthy infant development. USDA is committed to ensuring that FNS program participants always have access to the formula they need.
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.
FNS is communicating the following guidance to remind WIC state agencies and WIC authorized vendors of our ongoing commitment to ensure the safety of infant formula purchased in the WIC program, and to prevent stolen infant formula from being purchased with WIC benefits.
FNS administers the WIC program at the federal level. State agencies are responsible for operating the program in their jurisdictions. This includes determining participant eligibility and providing benefits and services.
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 to improve outreach and streamline certification in WIC. It outlines current flexibilities and new policy for certification documentation options and aims to reduce WIC staff and participant burden.
You may be eligible now even if you weren't before. WIC is by your side when your family is growing or your situation has changed. Many life changes – from having a baby or becoming a foster parent to experiencing income changes – can affect eligibility.
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.