The WIC Program in the United States

The WIC Program in the United States

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, also known as WIC, is a program designed to influence nutrition and health. WIC is available for low-income pregnant women, infants, and young children. Not only does WIC assist with nutrition, but it also provides nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and referrals to health care and social services. WIC has led to healthier infants and children by providing support to families in need. Administrations and Congress have provided sufficient funding since 1977 to make sure that WIC can help all eligible women, infants, and children. 

“During the 1960s, various studies identified hunger as a major problem in this country. Physicians described young women, often pregnant, in their clinics with various ailments caused by lack of food. In Atlanta, GA, doctors, and clinic staff began to prescribe needed food, and the prescription served to needed women” (History of WIC, 2021). A decade later, the White House Conference on Food, Nutrition, and Health decided to focus on the problem of hunger due to many families living in poverty. Conference recommendations started focusing on the nutritional needs of low-income pregnant women and pre-school children. On September 26, 1972, the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 was signed, which led to the creation of The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). A year later, WIC made two different food packages available, one for infants and another one for children and pregnant or breastfeeding women. In 1998, The William F. Goodling Child Nutrition Re-authorization Act of 1998 required all eligible parents to be physically present, provide evidence of income, and residency. The latest change in the WIC system was in 2010, under President Barak Obama. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was established for WIC agencies to adopt an electronic benefit transfer system. This system would introduce the debit card system in order to replace the paper vouchers, which had been used in the United States since 1968.

It is very simple to apply and become a WIC participant. The individual must contact their area’s state or local agency to set up an appointment. Usually, when an individual calls to set up an appointment, someone will inform them about the nearest office in their area and what to bring to the appointment, such as picture ID, social security card, birth certificate, proof of residency, and proof of income. At the appointment, the individual will be asked to fill out forms that will determine if the mom and child are eligible for WIC. Next, the mom and child will have their weight and height measured. After all the events above are accomplished or done, the mother will be informed about their next WIC visit, and she will receive the vouchers that fit best to her situation. The WIC vouchers provide food for mothers, infants, and children. The vouchers include foods such as, infant cereal, adult cereal, fruit, vegetables, juice, eggs, milk, cheese, peanut butter, beans, bread, baby food, and so much more. 

According to the article, WIC Works: Addressing the Nutrition and Health Needs of Low-Income Families for More Than Four Decades by Steven Carlson, there is strong evidence that supports the impact that WIC has done on low-income families. “WIC supports healthier diets, promotes breastfeeding and better infant feeding practices, and may improve food security among children. Since the introduction of improved food packages better aligned with current dietary guidance, WIC participants are purchasing and consuming more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy” (Carlson, 2021). Healthy eating practices are essential during infancy and early childhood for children to grow and develop healthy. Good nutrition is very important during pregnancy in order to support the development of the fetus and to protect the mother from pregnancy risks, such as diabetes, excessive weight gain, iron deficiency anemia, and miscarriage. Therefore, WIC aims to improve the health and nutrition of low-income women and their children by providing help. 

WIC has been successful due to the help of Administrations and Congress. Both systems have made sure to provide sufficient funding for low-income pregnant women, infants, and young children. “Research suggests that prenatal and early childhood participation in WIC is associated with improved cognitive development and academic achievement. WIC is quite effective in reaching women during, rather than after, their pregnancy: 83 percent of new mothers participating in WIC enrolled during their pregnancy” (Carlson, 2021) Research has provided evidence determining that WIC has been efficient for low-income women and children. 

Works Cited

| By Steven Carlson[1] and Zoë Neuberger, & More from the Authors Steven Carlson Steven Carl. (n.d.). WIC Works: Addressing the Nutrition and Health Needs of Low-Income Families for More Than Four Decades. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/wic-works-addressing-the-nutrition-and-health-needs-of-low-income-families. 

History of WIC. Snap To Health. (n.d.). https://www.snaptohealth.org/wic-2/history-of-wic/. 

Women, Infants, and Children

The federal nutritional assistance program, commonly known as WIC or Women, Infants, and Children, provides low income mothers with food assistance to provide herself and child with healthy groceries.  There are certain eligibility requirements that the mother must meet to qualify for assistance, there are four main categories; categorical, residential, income, and nutrition-risk.  The women who is applying for assistance must be pregnant, breastfeeding, or mothering a child up to five years of age.  You must be living in the state for which you are applying, but unlike other government programs, there is no time limit to be living within the state before you are eligible.  Each state has set a limit to which the applicants income must meet or fall below this rate to qualify.  Lastly, all applicants and children must go to monthly check-ups to assess nutritional health of the mother and children.  They must rule the mother or children as being of nutritional-risk or diet-risk.  This means that if you or your child is anemic, underweight, history of poor pregnancy, poor diet, etc., you should qualify for this type of nutritional assistance.  

The Department of Agriculture created Women, Infants, and Children nutritional assistance in 1972 to provide health assistance to low-income families to improve the health and well-being of pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and children.  Most states will allocate money to participants through a reloadable card, which will be added monthly at the regular check-ups the mother and children must attend.  There are nearly 50,000 stores nationwide who participate in the WIC program and allow the government issued cards to be used as payment.  This allows women to purchase fruits, vegetables, baby formula, baby food, whole grains, milk and other fresh foods.  

I have created my own pros and cons list to this program. Some positive things I have found that this program offers are:

• Women who are breastfeeding can make the most from this program.  They can purchase healthy foods and have a higher intake in vitamins and minerals through natural foods that will be transferred to the infant through the breast milk.  Once the child stops breastfeeding, formula becomes the main expense on the WIC monthly budget for the mother due to how expensive it is.
• Breast-pumps are provided to new mothers who are in need and cannot afford one and promotes the child drinking breast milk over formula. 
• Qualified foods you may purchase include all fruits and vegetables, whole grains, formula and baby food, certain cereals, milk, eggs, meats, etc.  

There are negative aspects as there are in every government program.  Some of the cons I found are:

• Appointments can be hard for new mothers to attend each month. This makes it harder in rural areas where women must drive some distance to get to the nearest WIC clinic.
• This program does not cover the costs for any special diet formula the infant may need unless they have a serious metabolic disorder.  Babies who are lactose intolerant or low iron who need a specialized formula will not be covered by the WIC program.  This leaves a large bill for new mothers who are having to buy even more expensive, specialized formula. 
• Once the money allocated for the year for WIC programs, when the money runs out, it is gone until the following fiscal year.  The more families who need help, the faster the money will run out.
• There is also poor fraud control with this program, mothers are applying for assistance and then cashing out the money that they have not spent for the month.  [Where did you get this idea?  Is there a study or an article that makes this claim? I'm aware of studies of trafficking (selling food benefits in exchange for cash) in the SNAP, but I've never heard of such a study of WIC. I suppose families could re-sell the milk and cereal and juice and cheese they buy with WIC coupons. I wonder how commonly that occurs.]

There are both positive and negative aspects to this program; however, the benefits for women and children seem to outweigh the negative aspects of it.  I encourage government officials to continue to promote and fight for these nutritional assistance programs.