In 1991 and 1998, FNS conducted national studies of WIC vendors to determine the extent of vendor violation of WIC Program rules. After the 1998 study, FNS issued regulations to correct vendor practices. The 2005 study replicated the 1998 study and had the following goals: (1) to determine whether the regulations were effective and (2) to measure the frequency of vendor violations and the degree to which vendors charged accurate prices for WIC transactions. It also provided data on payment error, as required by the Improper Payments Information Act (IPIA) of 2002 (P.L. 107-300).
To determine what effect WIC-only vendors ; growth would have on program expenditures, in the absence of recent cost-containment legislation, Congress asked Government Accountability Office the following questions: (1) What is known about WIC-only vendors ; growth and their share of the WIC market in recent years? (2) To what extent do WIC-only and regular WIC vendors differ? (3) What would WIC-only vendors ; contribution to WIC Program expenditures have been if their market share had increased? Government Accountability Office analyzed national WIC vendor data; interviewed WIC state officials about vendors ; business practices; and analyzed redemption data from California, Texas, and Florida.
This report presented a re-analysis of the data from the 1991 and 1998 WIC Vendor Management Practices studies, which allowed comparisons of the findings. From operational and management perspectives, it was important for FNS to know whether there had been any changes in vendor management practices from 1991 to 1998.
USDA's domestic food and nutrition assistance programs increase food security by providing low-income households with access to food, a healthful diet, and nutrition education. Reliable monitoring of food security not only contributes to the effective operation of these programs, but also to the success of private food assistance programs and other government initiatives aimed at reducing food insecurity. This annual food security report provides statistics that guide planning for federal, state, and community food assistance programs.
Throughout 2007, a total of 84% of US households with children were food secure, meaning that they had consistent access to adequate food for active, healthy lives for all household members. Nearly 16% of households with children were food insecure sometime during the year. These included 8.3% where children were food insecure, and 0.8% where one or more children experienced very low food security;the most severe food-insecure condition that the USDA measures. In 2007, federal food and nutrition assistance programs provided benefits to four out of five low-income, food-insecure households with children.
This study compared consumption patterns of WIC children with those of three different comparison groups: eligible non-participating children living in non-WIC households, eligible non-participating children living in WIC households, and children living in households whose income was too high to be eligible for WIC. The study provided strong evidence that participation in the WIC Program increased consumption of at least some types of WIC-approved foods.
In this study, the researchers analyzed 2004-09 Nielsen scanner-based retail sales data from more than 7,000 stores in 30 states, to examine the effect of winning a WIC sole-source contract on infant formula manufacturers ; market share in supermarkets. According to the findings, the manufacturer holding the WIC contract brand accounted for the vast majority (84%) of all formula sold by the top three manufacturers. The impact of a switch in the manufacturer that held the WIC contract was considerable.
WIC provides participating infants with free infant formula. This study estimated that between 57% and 68% of all infant formula sold in the US was purchased through WIC, based on 2004;06 data, and that formula costs to the WIC Program have increased. After adjusting for inflation, net wholesale prices increased by an average 73% for 26 fluid ounces of reconstituted formula between states ; contracts in effect in December 2008 and the states; previous contracts. As a result of the increase in real net wholesale prices, WIC paid about $127 million more for infant formula over the course of a year.
This report examines trends in the factors affecting WIC infant formula costs from January 1998 to January 2006. Data on infant formula manufacturers ; bids for rebate contracts, formula manufacturers ; wholesale price lists, and scanner-based retail sales data from supermarkets were used in the study. Results suggested that retail markup accounted for most of the cost to WIC of infant formula in most states. However, both retail markup and net wholesale price had increased over time. The recent increase in these components coincided with the introduction of higher-priced supplemented infant formulas. The authors concluded that conditions might change after the market adjusts to these new formulas.
This report provided information on (1) factors that influence program spending on infant formula; (2) how the level of savings resulting from infant formula cost containment has changed and the implications of these changes for the number of participants served; and (3) steps federal and state agencies have taken to contain state spending on infant formula.
