The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is a federal grant program that provides access to food, nutrition information, and health care referrals to women and children, from pregnancy through the time the child reaches the age of five years. A woman’s or child’s eligibility to participate in WIC is based on the caregiver’s income, as well as the child’s medical or dietary status. Participating in WIC is associated with lower levels of infant mortality, better cognitive development for the child as well as more nutritious diets.
This indicator documents the coverage rates for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) eligible infants, one-year-olds, and two-year-olds by state for the 2019 calendar year. In the following states: Alabama, California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin, the estimated coverage rate was greater than 100 percent for infants.
The percentage of eligible infants who participated in WIC can be disaggregated by race and ethnicity. The included subgroups are Hispanic, Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black, and Non-Hispanic Two or More Races or Other Race. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. (2021). About WIC. https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/about-wic
Black, M. M., Cutts, D. B., Frank, D. A., Geppert, J., Skalicky, A., Levenson, S., Casey, P. H., Berkowitz, C., Zaldivar, N., Cook, J. T., Meyers, A. F., Herren, T., & Children’s Sentinel Nutritional Assessment Program Study Group. F. (2004). Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children participation and infants’ growth and health: A multisite surveillance study. Pediatrics, 114(1), 169-176. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.114.1.169
Carlson, S., & Neuberger, Z. (2021). WIC works: Addressing the nutrition and health needs of low-income families for more than Four Decades. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. https://www.cbpp.org/research/food-assistance/wic-works-addressing-the-nutrition-and-health-needs-of-low-income-families
Source:
Farson Gray, K., Balch-Crystal, E., Giannarelli, L., & Johnson, P. (2022). National- and State-level estimates of WIC eligibility and WIC program reach in 2019. U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service. https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/national-state-level-estimates-eligibility-program-reach-2019