This is particularly important for the low-income families served by the WIC program, because they suffer disproportionately from diet-related illness and disease. Childhood obesity also declined for WIC participants after these changes were made, according to a study in JAMA Pediatrics. How can I say with such confidence that these changes will improve the health of those who use WIC benefits? Because the last time WIC increased the amount and variety of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, an improvement in the health status of benefit recipients followed.Ī 2017 study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine looked at what happened when WIC was revised in 2009 to include foods such as whole-grain breads and cereals and fruits and vegetables.There were significant decreases in purchases of calories, sodium, and total fat, and increases in purchases of fruits and vegetables with no added sugar, fats, or salt. The changes significantly increase the amount and variety of fruits and vegetables expand whole grain options to include foods like quinoa, teff, wild rice, millet, corn meal, and whole-wheat naan and add more nondairy substitution options for cow’s milk, such as soy-based cheese and oat milk yogurt. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is proposing to make permanent changes implemented temporarily as a part of the American Rescue Plan, or the COVID-19 stimulus package. 21, anyone concerned about the women and children served by this program can comment in support of these proposed changes.īacked by the latest research, the U.S. In particular, giving families greater access to vegetables, whole grains, and fruits will improve the health status of women and children, and, ultimately, help address diet-related diseases that often plague the very families WIC supports. As a mother, a registered dietitian, and someone with experience implementing our federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in Newport, I wholeheartedly support some of the recently announced proposed changes to the WIC food allotments.

Whole grain options for wic