The Importance of Federal Waivers and Technology in Ensuring Access to WIC During COVID-19

Am J Public Health. 2021 Apr 15:e1-e4. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2021.306211. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is a nutrition assistance program that promotes the health of pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children up to aged five years who are nutritionally at risk and live in households below 185% of the federal poverty level (FPL).1 Unlike other federal nutrition assistance programs, WIC reduces structural barriers to healthy eating by providing monthly food benefits while simultaneously promoting good nutrition through regular individualized nutrition counseling and nutrition education. The effectiveness of WIC has been demonstrated by extensive research illustrating improved health outcomes for the women, infants, and children served by the program.2-5 As the third largest US Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrition assistance program, WIC served about 6.9 million participants per month in fiscal year 2018, including almost half of all infants born in the United States.1. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print April 15, 2021: e1-e4. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306211).PMID:33856889 | DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2021.306211
Source: American Journal of Public Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Source Type: research