WIC Renewal

April 5, 2011

The WIC program (Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children) provides checks or vouchers for certain foods that are nutritionally beneficial to pregnant women, new mothers and children up to five years of age who are nutritionally at risk and meet other income requirements. Unlike the SNAP/food stamp program (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), the WIC program is not an entitlement program, meaning that not everyone that is eligible will receive. Additionally Congress must set aside WIC funds annually that are divvied up amongst state agencies and then distributed to program participants.

Like the Child Nutrition Act, the WIC Program must be reevaluated and reauthorized every five years by Congress. Last year, in conjunction with the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the WIC program was extended to 2015.

Highlights of WIC reauthorization

  • Provides more encouragement and support for mothers that breastfeed through increased and extended incentives and vouchers
  • Calls for a review of supplemental foods on the WIC list every 10 years
  • Extends WIC Farmer’s Market program through 2015
  • Allows State agencies to certify children up to one year of age instead of the current 6 months
  • Will require all WIC funds to be distributed by EBT by 2020
  • 2011 fiscal year funds for WIC total $6.504 billion, a decrease of $747.2 million or 10.3% from last year

In the past, WIC has been criticized as primarily promoting formula feeding babies, but the standards and rules are changing to encourage more mothers to breastfeed, which fosters better cognitive development in babies. This is especially important for mothers in Shelby County. According to a 2004 survey, only 9% of mothers in Shelby County had exclusively breastfed their babies at 6 months of age (Databook, 2010).

The Take-Away:

The 2010 reauthorization of WIC has called for new incentives and extended benefits for mothers who choose to breastfeed. It has also helped modernize the program, by calling for a review of the food list every decade and requiring that funds be distributed electronically. However, WIC has experienced a 10% decrease in funding since 2010, which will make it more difficult for mothers and young children in need of better nutrition this year to receive their services.

To learn more about the WIC program or see if you qualify, please visit their website.

Resources:

The Urban Child Institute (2010). Breastfeeding. In The State Of Children in Memphis and Shelby County: Data Book (5th ed., pp. 47-56). Retrieved from: http://www.theurbanchildinstitute.org/sites/all/files/databooks/TUCI_Data_Book_V_2010.05_breastfeeding.pdf

U.S. Department of Agriculture. Summary of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Retrieved from: http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/PL111-296_Summary.pdf

U.S. Department of Agriculture. WIC Fact Sheet. Retrieved from: http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/WIC-Fact-Sheet.pdf