Published February 25, 2025
More than 55 years since the Honorable Shirley Chisholm made history as the first Black woman elected to Congress, her legacy of fighting for racial justice, voting rights, women’s rights, and more, lives on.
This Black History Month, FRAC is celebrating Rep. Chisholm’s role in creating the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, more commonly known as WIC. WIC is a federal nutrition program that connects eligible infants, children up to age 5, and pregnant and postpartum people, to nutrition resources and support, including nutritionally tailored foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and health care and social services referrals.
In 1969, the White House hosted its first Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Springing from that event was the recommendation from Rep. Chisholm and Sen. Bob Dole that the U.S. Department of Agriculture pilot a program to provide supplemental food assistance for pregnant women and their infants and young children. The first Black woman to be elected to Congress and the first Black woman to run for president of the U.S., Chisholm prioritized policies to improve the lives of families with low incomes. And, coming from a career in early childhood education, Chisholm knew well the importance of a strong start to life.
During her second term in Congress, while Rep. Chisholm served on the House Education and Labor Committee, Congress passed a 1972 amendment to the Child Nutrition Act, which established WIC as a two-year pilot program and dedicated $20 million each year for fiscal years (FY) 1973 and 1974.
But the road to the launch of WIC was not a smooth one.
The Secretary of Agriculture at the time, Earl Butz, refused to implement the program and insisted that he would return the funds to the U.S. Treasury. In response, the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) brought a lawsuit against Secretary Butz that called for the program to be immediately initiated and for the impounded FY 1973 funding to be carried over to the next fiscal year to ensure its use. The presiding judge ruled in FRAC’s — and WIC’s — favor, yet Secretary Butz still refused to implement the program. After a series of successful contempt of court motions against Secretary Butz, he finally fully complied with the court orders.
However, new legislation was required as the pilot term had expired during the legal battles. Armed with funding estimates from FRAC, champions on the Hill, including Rep. Chisholm, passed the Child Nutrition Act amendment of 1975 securing a $250 million appropriation and making the WIC program permanent.
In the 50 years since, WIC has served as a foundational nutrition and health program, improving food and economic security, dietary intake, weight outcomes, health, learning, and more for generations of women, infants, and children. WIC now provides this essential support to more than 6.7 million women, infants, and children, and more than 50 percent of all infants born in the U.S. benefit from this vital program.
To ensure that future generations have access to that same healthy start, WIC must remain strong and continue to be available to all who need it. This includes Congress fully funding WIC for FY 2025 and beyond.
In the ongoing fight to end hunger in America, let us carry forward the clarity and determination of the Honorable Shirley Chisholm who once said, “You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.”
