WIC program adds fruits, veggies

Starting Thursday, fruits, vegetables and whole grains will become part of the approved menu in a federal program aimed at shoring up nutrition among pregnant women, mothers of young children and children under age 5.

In the first major expansion since the Women, Infants, and Children supplemental nutrition program, or WIC, program began in 1974, recipients can add more to their grocery cart than the items primarily pushed by the federal government: dairy products and infant formula.

This doesn't mean recipients' monthly benefit checks — which average about $40.22 per person in Nebraska and $41.12 in Iowa, with infants getting more for formula — will increase.

Instead, in an effort to keep the program cost-neutral and meet national dietary guidelines, recipients will be approved for less milk, cheese and eggs than in the past in exchange for fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Even infant formula is getting cut to make room for infant fruits and vegetables, items that were not previously included in the government menu.

Advocates for low-income people and nutrition are hailing the changes as long-overdue. They say the cuts in dairy won't affect nutrition negatively but will allow room for needed nutrients offered in produce and whole-grain breads and – depending on the state — whole grain rice or tortillas.

“We're thrilled,” said Geri Henchy, director of nutrition policy for the Food Research and Action Center, a Washington, D.C.-based organization. “We think it's going to be great not only for the families participating in WIC but also for some of the lower-income neighborhoods whose stores haven't stocked fruits and vegetables and low-fat grains, fruits and dairy.”

WIC is a U.S. Department of Agriculture program which differs in key ways from a better-known USDA program for the poor known as food stamps.

Both serve low-income people, but WIC offers a higher ceiling of eligibility: One must be at or under 185 percent of the federal poverty level, or earning no more than $33,874 in a household of three. (The food stamp program, among other income tests, sets eligibility at 130 percent of poverty, or $23,803 for a family of three).

WIC is aimed at pregnant, breast-feeding and non-breast-feeding postpartum women, infants and children up to age five.

Whereas food stamp recipients can select from nearly all food items in a grocery store and can use a debit card to pay for them, WIC recipients are limited to specific types and amounts of food and must use a government voucher.

WIC, like food stamps, is far-reaching. The USDA estimates that half of the infants born in this country are in households receiving WIC. As of June, 45,698 Nebraskans and 76,506 Iowans were participating in WIC.

An independent review by the National Academies' Institute of Medicine convened a committee of experts in nutrition, health, risk assessment and economics for a 22-month study that looked at dietary patterns, major diet-related health problems and risks the WIC population faced. The group released its final report in April 2005.

The USDA then modified recommendations to contain costs and to align new WIC food packages with guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The result is a more rounded-out menu that includes WIC standbys: milk, iron-fortified cereal, juice with vitamin C, carrots, eggs, dried beans or peanut butter, tuna and infant formula. New additions are: whole-grain bread, fresh fruits and vegetables, salmon, sardines or mackerel to substitute for tuna and infant fruits and vegetables.

States can choose to expand whole-grain offerings to include whole-grain rice and tortillas, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables, soy milk and canned beans.

The government also is rewarding new mothers for breast-feeding by offering enhanced food options, counseling and educational materials, and more time to participate in WIC than non-breast-feeding mothers.

Contact the writer:

444-1136, erin.grace@owh.com

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