One half of all U.S. infants—and one in four young children in the U.S. (aged one to five)—get crucial health and nutrition benefits from the WIC Program, according to the new Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) report, “WIC In The States: Thirty-One Years of Building A Healthier America.”

Formally titled “The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children,” the WIC Program is serving record numbers of participants—an average 7.9 million pregnant women, infants and young children each month in FY 2004 and approximately 8 million each month in the first quarter of FY 2005.

FRAC’s new report provides extensive state-by-state and year-by-year data for each of the covered categories: women, infants and children. In charts and graphs it allows participation trends to be tracked over time for the nation, states and Indian Tribal Organizations, for the period FY 1974 through FY 2004.

Most WIC funds go to provide participants with supplemental foods through a monthly package of high nutrient foods tailored to meet their special dietary needs. Through its Nutrition Services and Administration funds, WIC also supports nutrition education, which encourages healthy eating and activity habits; supports breastfeeding mothers; provides information on how to shop for nutritious foods; and makes referrals for health and other social services.

“WIC is building a healthier America,” explained Geraldine Henchy, MPH, RD, FRAC’s Director of Early Childhood Nutrition and the author of the report. “Newer research is adding to the list of positive WIC accomplishments. It helps to reduce low birth weights, decrease the incidence of iron deficiency anemia in children, prevent overweight in children, and improve the growth of at-risk infants and children. WIC investments are cost-effective, preventing costly health problems that would impact federal, state and local budgets in the future.”

WIC is operated through local clinics by state WIC agencies and Indian nations. To participate, an individual must be 1) a pregnant or postpartum woman, or an infant, or a child under the age of five; 2) low-income (with household income below 185 percent of the poverty level); and 3) nutritionally at-risk. Nutritional risk is evaluated by a health professional, and can include problems such as inadequate weight gain during pregnancy, or child and infant growth problems such as stunting, underweight, obesity, anemia, or an inadequate dietary pattern.

Clients receive WIC checks or coupons (or, in a few jurisdictions, new electronic debit cards) they can use for specific foods at a participating grocery store. The 2004 Congressional reauthorization of the WIC law strengthened the health promotion purpose of the WIC food package. That package, at USDA’s request, is under review by the Institute of Medicine.

Also in 2004, Congress expanded the definition of WIC nutrition education to include education encouraging good physical activity habits. “Successful efforts to reduce overweight and obesity require both nutrition and activity education,” explained Henchy.

On the national level, FRAC reports the WIC Program has grown fairly steadily since its inception in 1974, with two exceptions: a period of slower growth in the second half of the 1980s and a period of participation declines in fiscal years 1998-2000. Lower or relatively flat federal funding were common factors in both those periods, according to FRAC.

State participation fluctuations, FRAC reports, are affected by factors such as the level of federal funding, the timing of federal funding decisions, formulas for distribution among states, state-specific situations such as the level of infant formula rebates offered by formula companies, changes in WIC food prices, availability of state funds to supplement federal WIC funds, demographic patterns, and administrative changes.

The Food Research and Action Center (www.frac.org) is the leading national organization working for more effective public and private policies to eradicate domestic hunger and undernutrition.

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