WASHINGTON, DC, Sept. 4, 2017 -- Families participating in USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children in hurricane-stricken Texas will have an easier time finding WIC-approved foods for mothers and their children thanks to food-package flexibilities approved Sunday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said that USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) approved the request from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission because the full range of eggs, bread and fluid milk products are in short supply in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

“USDA is committed to ensuring that people touched by this disaster get the vital nutrition they need – in particular the women and children participating in the WIC program,” Perdue said. “Helping victims of Hurricane Harvey is a top priority for President Trump, and we will continue working to expedite access to programs which provide food for the vulnerable. We’re with you, Texas.”

Pregnant, post-partum and nursing women and children participating in WIC are given a personal food “prescription” designed to meet their specific nutritional needs. Under normal circumstances, they can use their food benefits at authorized retailers to purchase only specific WIC food items. The flexibilities approved this past weekend and lasting through September 24^, will expand the variety of certain WIC products allowed to be purchased based on what is available on store shelves.

Here are the details:

• Eggs. Participants will be allowed to purchase a variety of types of eggs in various pack sizes.
• Bread. Participants will be allowed to purchase a variety of bread products in various sizes that are readily available at the retailer. Retailers will be assisting participants in making their selections.
• Fluid Milk. Participants over the age of one year will be allowed to substitute milk of any available fat content and type despite the designation of their food package. Flavored milk will not be considered.

FNS continues to provide critical support for people affected by Hurricane Harvey and has approved the flexibilities to ensure that WIC participants continue to receive nutritional support throughout the disaster. WIC provides supplemental nutritious foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to health and other social services for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.

If you lost WIC food or formula, lost a WIC card, or need to find an open WIC clinic, call Texas WIC at 1-(800) 942-3678 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The WIC flexibilities approved Sunday are the latest in an ongoing series of USDA actions taken to help Texans cope with the storm and its aftermath that also include a waiver to allow all disaster-affected schools to provide meals to all students at no charge and be reimbursed at the free reimbursement rate through September 30.

In addition, local disaster organizations, such as the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, and Southern Baptist Men continue to utilize USDA Foods to serve hot meals in congregate shelters. Individuals seeking more information about this and other available aid should dial 2-1-1 (for callers from Texas) or 1-(877) 541-7905. For more information about Texas SNAP, visit YourTexasBenefits.com.

USDA's Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs, including the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs, the Child and Adult Care Food Program, the Summer Food Service Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which together comprise America's nutrition safety net. For more information on FNS assistance during times of disaster, visit www.fns.usda.gov/disaster.

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WASHINGTON, DC, September 19, 2016 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service today awards nearly $2 million in funding to six states and territories to help improve retention of children in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. These funds will enable WIC state agencies to better fulfill their crucial role in ensuring young children up to age five have a foundation for nutritional success.

“WIC has proven to be effective at building a stronger, healthier America by providing nutrition assistance to mothers and their young children and promoting healthy eating choices,” said USDA Under Secretary Kevin Concannon. “Despite that, we are seeing a decline in WIC participation among children over the age of one, meaning the potential benefits the program offers are not being fully leveraged. These grants will help maximize the impact of the WIC program by supporting states’ efforts to retain participants through the toddler and preschooler years.”

The funds are competitively awarded through the annual WIC Special Project Grants. This year’s grants are intended to help WIC State agencies develop, implement, and evaluate new or innovative methods of service delivery to meet the changing needs of WIC participants from birth to age 5. Based on 2012 National and state level estimates, only just over half of all eligible children ages 1-4 participate in WIC, as compared to 85 percent of eligible infants. As young children are vulnerable to a wide of variety of nutrition-related problems that can impair their development and growth, continued participation beyond age one is both recommended and vital.

Two types of grants were awarded: full grants and mini-grants.

Full grants are up to $500,000, have a 3-year duration period and require an evaluation component that usually includes a partnership with a university or research entity. The 2016 full grants are awarded to:

• Georgia - $430,124 for development of a partnership with Head Start and Early Head Start within three targeted Health Districts--Columbus, Gainesville and Macon,
• Mississippi - $407,009 for development of a partnership with Head Start facilities throughout the state,
• Pennsylvania - $500,000 for a multi-tiered intervention focusing on staff training and messaging to increase retention, and
• Virginia - $460,350 for a mobile WIC clinic to improve access to services in areas of high need.

Mini grants are up to $100,000, have an 18-month duration period and a less robust evaluation component. The 2016 mini-grants are awarded to:

• South Carolina – $100,000 to purchase a mobile WIC clinic to service five Promise Zone counties (Allendale, Bamberg, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper) and
• Puerto Rico – $100,000 to test the use of technology to combine access to participant-centered nutrition education and the optional mailing of WIC vouchers to participants, which are used to obtain supplemental foods.

The results developed from the Special Project Grants are made available to all WIC state agencies in order to share promising practices that could strengthen nutrition services delivery and increase child retention.

For more than 40 years, WIC has provided nutritious foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to other health and social services. The program serves low income pregnant women, breastfeeding and postpartum mothers, infants, and young children up to the age of five who are found to be nutritionally at risk. More information about the WIC program can be found at the Women, Infants and Children website.

USDA's Food and Nutrition Service administers 15 nutrition assistance programs. In addition to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, these programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the National School Lunch Program, the Child and Adult Care Feeding Program, and others, which together comprise America's nutrition safety net.

Columbia, MO, July 22, 2016 – Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urged all State Health Officers to use the resources and opportunities provided through their Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) agencies in their substance misuse prevention efforts. Vilsack made this announcement at a town hall in Missouri to discuss the opioid epidemic, which accounted for more than 28,000 deaths nationwide in 2014.

From 1993 to the 2013, opioid use has increased by 400 percent, exceeding 250 million prescriptions per year. Substance misuse may particularly impact the WIC population because the use of opioids can result in Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), a withdrawal disorder some babies experience after exposure to drugs while in utero. There was been a five-fold increase in NAS from 2000 to 2012. Research has shown that newborns with NAS are more likely to have low birthweight and respiratory problems. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a baby is born suffering from opioid withdrawal every 25 minutes, leading to an average hospital stay of 16.9 days versus 2.1 days for a non-NAS child and to $1.5 billion in additional hospital costs.

"Because of the devastating toll that opioid misuse has taken on our communities, and particularly rural areas, I have tasked USDA with creatively using all of the resources at our disposal to stem the tide of this epidemic," said Secretary Vilsack. "For many women, WIC is their first point of entry into the health care system, and we have an opportunity to intercept and potentially prevent dangerous health outcomes for both the mother and the child. But just using our existing resources won't be enough to help the women and families who are already struggling. Congress recently missed an opportunity to pass new funding for addiction treatment and I am urging legislators to return to Washington to pass the President's budget request of $1.1 billion to help those who are struggling."

WIC plays an important role in providing mothers and young children with access to nutritious food, while also serving as a useful conduit to other health resources. As an adjunct to healthcare, the WIC Program is uniquely positioned to help pregnant women and mothers who may be struggling with addiction to access the help they need.

To assist WIC agencies in their substance misuse prevention and referral efforts, USDA released guidance in 2014 designed to help WIC agency staff integrate information on alcohol, drug and other harmful substance use and referrals to other treatment resources into their clinic activities. The recent guides, Substance Use Prevention: Screening, Education, and Referral Resource Guide for Local WIC Agencies and Give Your Baby a Healthy Start, the Dangers of Smoking, Drinking and Taking Drugs include a variety of educational materials and resources for WIC participants as well as training materials for WIC staff.

The approximately 1,900 local WIC agencies and 10,000 WIC clinic sites nationwide can play a major role in increasing participants' awareness of the dangers of substance misuse during pregnancy and while breastfeeding since they are required to provide participating women with this information. About 85 percent of income-eligible infants participate in WIC in their first year of life, totaling approximately half of all infants born in the U.S. WIC local agencies are also required to coordinate with local alcohol and treatment services to maintain and make available a list of local resources for addiction counseling and treatment.

WIC is one of FNS' 15 nutrition assistance programs, which also include the National School Lunch Program, Summer Food Service Program, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Together, these programs comprise America's nutrition safety net.

Orlando, FL, April 22, 2016 – Today, Agriculture Undersecretary Kevin Concannon announced strengthened nutrition standards for food and beverages served to young children and others in day care settings at the annual conference of the National Child and Adult Care Food Program Sponsors Association. Young children and adults in day care will now receive meals with more whole grains, a greater variety of vegetables and fruits, and less added sugars and solid fats. The science-based standards introduced in this final rule will elevate the nutritional quality of meals and snacks provided under the CACFP to better align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and to be consistent with the meals children receive as part of the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.

“Research indicates that America's obesity problem starts young, with obesity rates in preschoolers more than doubling over the last three decades and one in eight preschoolers classified as obese,” said Concannon. “Since taste preference and eating habits develop early in life, CACFP could play a crucial role in the solution. This final rule marks another important step toward ensuring young children have access to the nutrition they need and develop healthy habits that will contribute to their well-being over the long term.”

The new meal patterns will improve access to healthy beverages, including low-fat and fat-free milk and water, and encourage breastfeeding for the youngest program participants. These standards reflect the nutritional improvements seen in children across the country since the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010.

CACFP provides aid to child and adult care institutions and family or group day care homes for the provision of nutritious foods that contribute to the growth and development of children and the health and wellness of older adults and chronically impaired disabled persons. Through the CACFP, over 4 million children and nearly 120,000 adults receive nutritious meals and snacks each day as part of the care they receive.

This is the first major revision of the CACFP meal patterns since the program's inception in 1968 and will require meals and snacks provided through the CACFP to better reflect the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the nutritional issues facing young children and adults today. These changes are a meaningful first step in improving CACFP participants’ access to nutritious foods. Since the inception of CACFP, the most prevalent nutrition-related health problems among participants have shifted from malnutrition to overconsumption, including calories, saturated fats, added sugar, and sodium. These vulnerable populations also tend to under consume of fiber and other essential nutrients.

The new standards were carefully designed to make significant, achievable, and cost-neutral improvements to the nutritional quality of the meals and snacks served through CACFP. USDA focused on incremental changes that balance the science behind the nutritional needs of the diverse CACFP participants and the practical abilities of participating centers and day care homes to implement these changes. By setting an implementation date of October 1, 2017, the final rule provides ample lead time for centers and day care homes to learn and understand the new meal pattern standards before they are required to be in full compliance. USDA will provide in-person and online trainings and is developing new resources and training materials, such as menu planning tools, new and updated recipes, and tip sheets, to ensure successful implementation of the new nutrition standards.

This announcement is part of USDA's continued commitment to ensuring children and families have access to a healthy diet. Over the past seven years, USDA has enhanced federal nutrition programs, providing a critical safety net for millions of American children and families. Some examples include, updated nutrition standards for school nutrition, the updated WIC package to include whole grains, low-fat dairy, fruits and vegetables, expanding the scope of the SNAP nutrition education program, and supporting an unprecedented growth in the number of farmers markets that accept SNAP and WIC benefits. By expanding access to nutritious foods and increasing awareness about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, USDA programs have made a real difference in the lives of many, promising a brighter, healthier future for our nation.

The Child and Adult Care Food Program is one of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service’s 15 nutrition assistance programs, which also include the National School Lunch Program, Summer Food Service Program, the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Together, these programs comprise America's nutrition safety net.

Washington, DC, Feb. 29, 2016 – Today, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced a major step to make it easier for participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children to access nutritious foods. The WIC Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Final Rule will improve the shopping experience for WIC participants by requiring states to transition from paper benefits to EBT systems by Oct. 1, 2020, as required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Secretary Vilsack made this announcement during a speech at the 2016 National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference, hosted by the Food Research & Action Center and Feeding America, in Washington, DC. The Secretary was joined at the conference by Dorothy McAuliffe, First Lady of Virginia and a champion of child nutrition programs. Virginia is one of 12 states and 4 tribal nations that have already competed the transition to EBT for distributing WIC benefits.

“USDA's WIC Program has a longstanding history of improving the health of low-income women, infants and children at nutritional risk,” said Vilsack. “EBT is widely recognized as the optimal method of food benefit delivery, allowing WIC participants to shop conveniently and check out confidently. This final rule is one of many ways we continue to collaborate with states and other stakeholders to significantly improve the delivery of WIC benefits and protect the integrity of the program.”

WIC EBT is an electronic system that replaces paper food checks or vouchers with a card - similar to an ATM or debit card - that is used for food benefit issuance and redemption at authorized WIC stores. In fiscal year 2016, Congress appropriated $220 million help state agencies fully fund the transition from paper benefits to EBT. This ensures WIC can continue providing quality nutrition services while improving the effectiveness and efficiency of service delivery. USDA will continue to work closely with state agencies to support them throughout the implementation process.

The transition from paper benefits to EBT systems allows WIC participants to shop for items as needed rather than requiring them to purchase all items in one trip or lose the remaining benefits. Implementing EBT will also reduce checkout times and potential stigma associated with using food benefits. Additionally, WIC participants will no longer need to separate their WIC foods from their other grocery items.

Switching to statewide EBT will also strengthen the management and integrity of the WIC program by providing USDA and state agencies with previously unavailable data on the type, amount, and cost of foods purchased with WIC benefits. In addition, this final rule will significantly decrease the time and cost of processing payments for both vendors and the program.

Approximately half of all infants in the U.S. participate in WIC. The program provides nutritious foods to supplement diets, nutrition education (including breastfeeding promotion and support), and referrals to health and other social services to low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants, and children up to age five. Services are made available through approximately 1,900 local agencies and 10,000 clinic sites. Forty-five thousand authorized stores offer healthy WIC foods to participants. More information about the WIC program can be found at www.fns.usda.gov/wic.

The WIC EBT announcement is just one way that USDA is helping Americans access healthy foods. USDA has also recently issued a retailer standards proposed rule that will ensure stores that accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits stock a wider array of food choices. In addition, USDA is conducting a pilot to explore home delivery of groceries to homebound elderly and disabled SNAP participants.

Today's announcement comes on the eve of National Nutrition Month. Throughout March, USDA will be highlighting results of our efforts to improve access to safe, healthy food for all Americans and supporting the health of our next generation. For example, since the program revised its food package in 2014, WIC has been providing participants heathier food choices to meet their needs during critical periods of growth and development.

WIC is one of USDA's Food and Nutrition Service's 15 nutrition assistance programs, which also include the National School Lunch Program, Summer Food Service Program, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Together, these programs comprise America's nutrition safety net.

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USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. 

The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) is managing a small-grants research program, funded by the Food and Nutrition Service of the US Department of Agriculture. Through a competitive process, UCLA awarded seven grants in June 2012. The awardees are listed below, along with a description of their projects. The two-year projects to academic researchers, in partnership with WIC agencies, will focus on the role that the WIC program is playing and can play in improving nutrition in pre-conceptional and peri-conceptional (between pregnancies) periods. FNS and UCLA anticipate that the grants will foster future collaboration and additional outside funding, along with findings that can inform WIC program development and nutrition education nationwide.

“Association Between Interpregnancy Interval And Maternal Health Outcomes Among WIC Participants,” Baruch College – CUNY, Oregon Health and Science University, and Oregon WIC Program. The proposed study will use a mixed methods approach to analyze the relationship between the interpregnancy interval (IPI) and maternal health outcomes, including risk factors associated with a short interpregnancy interval (IPI), whether a short IPI is associated with negative maternal health indicators. It will also examine mothers’ views of birth spacing, periconceptional health behaviors, and WIC’s potential influence in both areas.

“E-Moms: A Personalized Telehealth Intervention For Health And Weight Loss In Postpartum Women,” Louisiana State University, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, East Baton Rouge Parish WIC Clinic, and Capitol City Family Health Center WIC Clinic at Family Roads. The objective of this study is to implement a personalized weight management program to overweight and obese postpartum women in WIC. It will use a randomized-controlled design, and deliver nutritional counseling through the WIC Clinic (control) or a personalized, postpartum health intervention delivered remotely via Smartphone (treatment). The study will examine the impact of the treatment on weight loss and nutrition practices at six-months post-partum. The study will also test the efficacy of the telehealth platform to deliver health messages targeting other behaviors such as smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, breastfeeding, postpartum depression and infant food intake.

“Peri-conception Health In The San Luis Valley,” University of Colorado at Denver and San Luis Valley WIC Clinic. This study will examine the impact on periconceptional weight and nutrition behaviors of two interventions: the HeartSmartKids™ (HSK) electronic program – a bilingual kiosk and decision support system that assists providers in clinical care and that will be adapted for use with women in post-, inter- and pre-partum phases – and training WIC educators in motivational interviewing to support maternal health behavior change.

“Improving Peri-conceptional Health Through The Prevention Of Excessive Gestational Weight Gain: From Research To Intervention,” Pepperdine University and Public Health Foundation (PHFE) WIC Program. This project will assess the impact on pregnancy weight gain of new individual and group educational materials focused on weight gain and the IOM recommendations for pregnant women.

“Short Inter-Pregnancy Interval And Weight Retention Among Massachusetts WIC Participants: Identifying Strategies To Improve Interconceptional Health,” Simmons College, Boston and Massachusetts WIC Program. The project will use 9 years of longitudinal Massachusetts (MA) WIC data to assess the impact of WIC on IPI among women who are WIC participants either prenatally or in the post-partum period of an initial pregnancy, determine the factors affecting weight retention (or loss) from one pregnancy to the next, and consider the degree to which weight retention is affected by the intensity of WIC nutrition education.

“Integrating Obstetrical Care And WIC Nutritional Service To Address Maternal Obesity And Postpartum Weight Retention: Altering The Life Course Trajectory,” Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health and the WIC Nutrition in Pregnancy Clinic (NIP) in the Johns Hopkins Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) Department. The purpose of this research is to develop and evaluate the impact of a cost-neutral model to completely integrate postpartum obstetrical care and WIC nutritional services to address maternal postpartum weight retention and overall periconceptional health. It will consider the impact of an intensive postpartum nutrition intervention referred to as WICNIP on weight and nutrition outcomes.

“Reaching High Risk Post-Partum Women For Nutritional Assessment And Counseling Via A Telephone-Based Coaching Program,” The University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), Sonoma County WIC Program, and the San Francisco County WIC Program. The project will adapt a recently developed post-partum diabetes prevention intervention created by the partners for the WIC context . The program, Support via Telephone Advice and Resources (STAR-MAMA), is based on an Automated Telephone Self-Management Support system (ATSM) was developed for at-risk populations. The study will implement the modified STAR-MAMA system with WIC participants and consider its impact on nutritional risk and health behaviors.