The federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children—commonly known as WIC—safeguards the health of pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and young children from low-income households who are at nutritional risk. The WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study, also known as the "Feeding My Baby Study," is the only national study to capture data on caregivers and their children over the first nine years of the child's life after enrollment in WIC, regardless of their continued participation in the program. The WIC Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2: Sixth Year Report is the seventh in a series generated from this study. It focuses on children's dietary intake patterns, eating behaviors, and weight status during the child's 6th year, after WIC eligibility has ended. The report also explores whether patterns of WIC participation in early childhood are associated with dietary behaviors and nutrient intakes after WIC eligibility ends. Key findings from the report include:
- Consistent 5-year participation in WIC is associated with better overall diet quality at age 6 compared to participation during only the first year of life.
- Longer participation in WIC is associated with lower saturated fat intake at age 6.
- At age 6, study children consumed recommended amounts of macronutrients but had inadequate intake of certain micronutrients, including vitamin E, calcium, and vitamin D.
- Usual intake of fruits, vegetables, dairy, protein foods, and grains among study participants was consistent with that of a national sample but lower than recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The report was published by the US Department of Agriculture and includes Nutrition Policy Institute's Lorrene Ritchie as a co-author. Read a summary of the report online.
Over 38,000 participants in the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, commonly known as WIC, completed a satisfaction survey in summer of 2023. Conducted across 21 participating WIC state agencies in all US Department of Agriculture administrative regions, the survey showed high satisfaction with the WIC program and that participants feel respected, valued and included by WIC staff. The hybrid WIC services introduced during the pandemic were successful, with two-in-three using in-person services, over half using remote services and nearly all finding it is easy to schedule appointments. The top reasons for WIC participation were the fruits and vegetables in the WIC food package followed by other foods and the education and support from WIC staff. Participants expressed interest in using WIC benefits at farmers markets and requested expanded fruit and vegetable options in states that don't authorize canned or frozen options. The survey illuminated challenges participants experience when shopping for WIC foods, reasons for not buying all their WIC foods, and their desire for expanded shopping options. Results align with the recently finalized WIC food package changes. Findings are available in the report “2023 WIC Multi-State Participant Satisfaction Survey” published online on April 9, 2024. The survey was also cited in an article in The New York Times, "Food Aid Program for Mothers and Children Will Provide More Fruits and Vegetables" and another article in NBC News, "Low-income families have more to spend on fruit and veggies thanks to new WIC rule," both published on April 9, 2024. The project was conducted by Lorrene Ritchie, Danielle Lee, Celeste Felix, Ken Hecht and Hannah Thompson from the Nutrition Policy Institute, Loan Kim, Theresa Tran, Claire Burton and Amanda Kiang from Pepperdine University and Georgia Machell from the National WIC Association. The project was funded by the National WIC Association through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
- Author: Brianna Aguayo Villalon
- Editor: lauren au
A recent study found that higher infant diet quality scores observed in Hispanic Spanish-speaking participants account for certain racial and ethnic variations in later diet quality, suggesting that enhancing infant nutrition could mitigate early childhood diet disparities. Researchers focused on data from participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, to analyze nutritional practices based on racial and ethnic differences among young children. The researchers found that infant diet quality among Hispanic Spanish-speaking families accounted for 25% of later diet disparities based on racial and ethnic differences. The study was published in The Journal of Nutrition, including authors Lauren Au, Charles Arnold, and Sarina Lin from the University of California, Davis, Department of Nutrition, Lorrene Ritchie from the Nutrition Policy Institute, and Edward Frongillio from the University of South Carolina, Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior.
- Author: Brianna Aguayo Villalon
- Editor: Danielle Lee
- Editor: Gail Woodward
The article, “Associations between Changes in Food Acquisition Behaviors, Dietary Intake, and Bodyweight during the COVID-19 Pandemic among Low-Income Parents in California” was recently published in the Nutrients journal. Low-income parents in California reported changes in food/meal acquisition behaviors, dietary intake, and body weight from before to during the pandemic through an online survey conducted from April through August 2021. The study found that decreased supermarket or farmer's market shopping was associated with decreased fruit and vegetable intake and increased unhealthy snack consumption. Online food and meal ordering were associated with higher intakes of sweets, salty snacks, fast food, and increases in weight. Increases in cooking healthy home meals were associated with improved nutrition outcomes. This research suggests a need for interventions that support healthy home cooking and address the negative effects of online food/meal shopping to help mitigate health disparities post-pandemic and prepare for future similar emergencies. The study was led by Nutrition Policy Institute researchers, Gail Woodward-Lopez, Erin Esaryk, Suzanne Rauzon, Sridharshi C. Hewawitharana, with Hannah R. Thompson of the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, and California Department of Public Health co-authors Ingrid Cordon and Lauren Whetstone.
This news post is also available in Spanish and in a brief Spanish-language video.
Nutrition Policy Institute collaborated with Impact Justice, ChangeLab Solutions and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to launch a first-in-the-nation ‘Farm to Corrections' Harvest of the Month pilot project bringing California-grown produce to incarcerated populations in California in three prisons. Several California state policies support the project, including AB-822 which provides price incentives for state agencies to purchase California-grown produce and AB-778 which requires that 60% of state agency's produce is purchased from within the state. The project, led by NPI's Wendi Gosliner, Ron Strochlic and Carolyn Chelius, produced a report summarizing the opportunities and challenges in bringing more California-grown produce to the state's prison system, a second report of promising farm-to-corrections practices from across the United States, as well as several trauma-informed nutrition education workshops across the state for formerly incarcerated individuals. The project was featured in several media outlets, including an article by FarmProgress on October 6, 2023, “'Farm to corrections' project feeds prisoners” and the My Ag Life podcast episode on October 6, 2023, 'Farm to Corrections' Project Benefits Incarcerated Individuals, Growers. The podcast recording featuring Carolyn's interview begins at 10:23. The article was also featured in the University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources News & Events on September 28, 2023, “‘Farm to corrections' project provides fresh produce to people in prison, boosts California growers.”