In FY 2000, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) awarded grants to 6 state agencies to support Special Projects Grants. The money was divided between two sets of projects:
- full grant awards for three years; and
- one year concept paper awards to enable states to develop promising concepts into viable grant proposals in the following year. In consultation with the National Association of WIC Directors (NAWD) and state agencies.
FNS adopted a new focus area for Special Projects: "Revitalizing Quality Nutrition Services – RQNS".
1) WIC RQNS Special Projects
The FY 2000 WIC Special Projects are three-year projects that look at ways to revitalize quality nutrition services at the state agency level. Participants focus on issues such as nutrition education, parenting skills, and staff training at the state and local level. The state agencies that received FY 2000 funds and their areas of study are as follows:
State Agency | Study |
|---|---|
| New Mexico | Revitalizing WIC Nutrition Services through Education on Feeding Relationships and Parenting Skills Final Report: New Mexico WIC State Agency: Promoting Healthy Feeding Relationships and Nurturing Parenting Practices [pdf] |
| Tennessee | Revitalizing Quality Nutrition Services by Reinvesting in Staff: Training for WIC Staff Final Report: Tennessee WIC State Agency: Reinvesting in Staff [pdf] |
| Washington | Revitalizing WIC Nutrition Services in Washington State: Building on Our Strengths Final Report: Washington WIC State Agency: Healthy Habits [pdf] |
2) Concept Paper Development
The FY 2000 Concept Paper grants provide state agencies with funds to develop a concept into a full grant proposal for FY 2001, addressing the RQNS theme. The three concept papers awarded in FY 2000 were:
State Agency | Concept |
|---|---|
| Iowa | Using Social Marketing Research to Change How WIC Teaches about Vegetables |
| Maine | Web-based Nutrition Education: Give the People What They Want |
| Massachusetts | Cultural Perspectives on Childhood Obesity among Hispanic WIC Participants in Massachusetts |