The authors described the WIC Program: how it works, its history, program trends, and the characteristics of the population it serves. It also examines then-current issues facing WIC, focusing mainly on those with important economic implications.
This study analyzed the reasons for entry, exit, re-entry, and continuity of participation in the WIC Program. Most children entered the program as infants. Exit from the program was not linked to a particular age, and Medicaid-enrolled children were less likely to exit WIC early. Infants of the lowest-income families were more likely to continue participation as a child. These results could help inform clinic outreach strategies.
This study investigated the differences between children ages 1 to 5 in the Texas WIC Program who had improved anemia statuses and those who did not. Non-improvers were more likely to be those children who were younger, who lived in families with four or more children, who ate fewer snacks, and who never ate dried fruits. More parents of non-improvers incorrectly believed that their child had improved.
This report provided information on the new methodology developed by the National Research Council to estimate rates of eligibility and participation in the WIC Program. The new methodology provided more accurate estimates of the number of people eligible for WIC. The report estimated that 13.5 million individuals were eligible for WIC and that 7.7 million participated in WIC in 2003.
This brief summarized two recent ERS-sponsored studies that provided new assessments of nutrient intakes of WIC children, income-eligible children not participating in the WIC Program, and children ineligible for WIC.
The five summaries in the Nutrition and Health Characteristics of Low-Income Populations series highlighted key findings of the multi-volume Nutrition and Health Outcomes Study. The summaries examines the nutritional and health status of Food Stamp Program participants, WIC participants, school-age children, and older Americans.
This research was designed to establish a baseline from which to monitor the nutritional and health characteristics of WIC participants and non-WIC participants over time. Because of age-based variations in the survey protocols and small samples of pregnant and postpartum women, data were not consistently available among women, infants, and children. The richest datasets were available for children, and datasets were most limited for pregnant women.
This report described the WIC Program: how it works, its history, program trends, and the characteristics of the population it serves. It also examines issues related to program outcomes and administration. How the WIC community responded to these issues might have a large impact on future program operations.
Using 2004-06 Nielsen Homescan data, the authors examines the prices of fruits and vegetables (fresh, frozen, and canned) in 26 metropolitan market areas to determine how price variations affected the voucher ;s purchasing power. The authors found that the 20 most commonly purchased fruits and vegetables cost 30% to 70% more in the highest-priced market areas than in the lowest. From these results, the authors inferred that WIC participants who lived in more expensive geographic areas might be able to purchase fewer fruits and vegetables than those who lived in areas where these items were cheaper.
This study found that combining point-of-purchase data with state data on the WIC Program was a feasible method to assess behavior changes in WIC participants. The major obstacle to using these data as a practical method of evaluating WIC participants; food-purchasing behaviors was the recruitment of enough stores to allow the inclusion of a representative sample of WIC participants.
