Summary
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), which was signed into law in March 2021, provided USDA with $390 million and waiver authority for outreach, innovation, and program modernization in WIC and the WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP). FNS is interested in understanding the implementation and outcomes related to these modernization efforts. This information collection request (ICR) is for the 2023-2028 WIC & FMNP Outreach, Innovation, and Modernization Evaluation (WIC modernization evaluation).
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides supplemental food, nutrition education, and referrals to health and social services to pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are living in households with low incomes and are at nutritional risk. The Farmers Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) provides eligible WIC participants with FMNP benefits, in addition to their regular WIC benefits, which can be used to buy eligible foods from authorized outlets, including farmers, farmers' markets, or roadside stands.
The WIC modernization evaluation has three components: an implementation study, a waiver study, and an impact study.
Request for Comments
Comments regarding this information collection received by July 11, 2025 will be considered. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” or by using the search function.
Need and Use of the Information
The implementation study will provide a comprehensive understanding of project implementation while accommodating variations in the timing of projects within different program areas, implementation within and between state agencies, and innovative approaches. The implementation study will collect data from WIC state agencies, local agencies, clinics, WIC & FMNP vendors and outlets, and WIC participants. These data will provide current and ongoing information about modernization efforts in all 88 WIC state agencies.
The waiver study will provide an understanding of waiver issuance and use. The waiver study will rely on many of the same data sources as the implementation study, especially with WIC state agencies. The study will also collect information on whether and how unique waivers were implemented by WIC state agencies to conduct the modernization projects.
The impact study will measure the impact of the WIC and FMNP modernization projects on participants through key short-term and intermediate-term outcome measures. It will address whether the modernization projects improved key outcome measures and how changes in these outcomes were related to the number and type of modernization projects. Most outcomes will be measured with administrative data. The impact study will also use surveys to learn about the experiences and satisfaction of WIC program staff, WIC & FMNP vendor/outlet staff, and participants with the changes to the WIC program as a result of the modernization activities. In addition, the impact study will rely on information from the implementation and waiver studies about where and when projects and waivers were implemented.