Approximately every ten years, FNS conducts a nationally-representative survey of the characteristics of WIC participants and State and local agencies. The NSWP Series provides USDA with national estimates of certification- related errors and improper payments for use in USDA’s required reporting under the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act of 2010 (IPERA). The NSWP series also collects information on State and local WIC Agencies’ certification-related policies and operations in order to better understand both the policies and their potential associations with error, provides statistical sample-based estimates of the size and characteristics of LWAs nationwide, and provides information from a nationally-representative sample of WIC participants about their experiences with the WIC program. The last study collected data in 2009 and was published in 2012. The next study in the series was awarded in September 2015. Data collection is anticipated to begin in 2017.
The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) is managing a small-grants research program, funded by USDA FNS. Through a competitive process, UCLA awarded seven grants in June 2012. The two-year projects to academic researchers, in partnership with WIC agencies, focus on the role that the WIC program is playing and can play in improving nutrition in pre-conceptional and periconceptional (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. Grantees presented their findings at a grantee conference in August 2015. Descriptions of the small grants awarded are available on the web at: https://www.fns.usda.gov/ops/role-wic-program-improving-peri-conceptional-nutrition-small-grants-program.
This biennial census provides detailed information on the demographic characteristics, economic circumstances and health conditions of WIC clients, along with information on the operational characteristics of State and local WIC agencies. The data are used for policy development, budget projections and regulatory impact analyses. Information about WIC participation characteristics has been prepared biennially since 1992 from administrative records provided by State agencies.
This report, the latest in a series of annual reports on WIC eligibility, presents 2014 national and State estimates of the number of people eligible for WIC benefits and the percent of the eligible population covered by the program, including estimates by participant category. The report also provides estimates by region, State, U.S. territory, and race and ethnicity, as well as updated estimates for years 2005–2013.
WIC-eligible women with unintended pregnancies and fewer social supports tend to participate in WIC, but those who experience more structural barriers are less likely to participate. Asian/Pacific Islander women may face specific challenges to WIC participation.
studies from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have demonstrated decreases in the prevalence of obesity among 3- to 23-month-old infants and toddlers and among 2- to 4-year-old children enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children
"Participation in WIC during pregnancy was significantly associated with being up-to-date at 2, 6, and 36 months. Participation in WIC was associated with an increased likelihood of up-to-date vaccination status, and engaging eligible foreign-born families in programs such as WIC might provide an opportunity to increase on-time vaccination "
Diet quality was assessed among participants in the WIC program across three time points following the WIC food package shift instituted nationally in 2009. Retention rates were 91% at 12 months and 89% at 18 months. For our WIC study, we augmented retention by developing a home data collection protocol and increased focus on staff diversity training.
The farmers market cost was greater. The farmers market users more often ate vegetables as snacks and > 1 vegetable per day.
Receipt of an unconditional prenatal income supplement was associated with positive outcomes. Placing conditions on income supplements may not be necessary to promote prenatal and perinatal health.
