Expand the WIC Program

Published March 26, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT

Earlier this week, Delaware became the second state (New York is the other) in the nation to implement important changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Woman, Infants and Children—a government food-aid program better known as WIC.

These changes, required to take effect in every state by October 1, 2009, will allow the 8 million WIC participants in the country to make better nutritional food choices by allowing the purchase of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole-grains and soy-based products for the first time in the program’s 35 year history.

You heard right. A program that is, at its core, designed to help low-income mothers with young children purchase healthy food to increase the nutritional value of their diets didn’t include fresh fruits and vegetables as an edible option until now.

While this is certainly a step in the right direction—as is limiting access to high-calorie, high-fat foods such as processed fruit juice and cheese—increasing the age-limits of children eligible to participate in the program would do even more to combat hunger and a lack of nutrition in low-income families.

Currently, only children five-years-old and younger are eligible for inclusion in the WIC program. I say, the USDA should increase age-limits to at least 12 years of age—or about the time most children will leave elementary school.

Good eating habits are key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The earlier children are trained to eat right, the more likely they are to adopt these habits as they grow older. Keeping children in the WIC program longer would encourage healthy eating in low-income families and allow children more time to learn to appreciate the taste of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Of course, increasing the age-limit for children included in the WIC program would result in more participants, and thus, would require more government money to run the program. However in the long-run, teaching kids (and their parents) to eat well could actually save the government money in health-care costs.

The U.S. currently spends more (as a percentage of GDP) than any other country in the world on health care, yet we still have morbidly high rates of obesity, heart disease and diabetes—all symptoms of poor diets. With health care costs expected to double by 2017, training children to eat well is the most cost-effective measure we can take to eliminate or greater reduce diet-related diseases and expenses.

Even if your family is fortunate enough to not need assistance from the WIC program, the USDA has lots of resources for parents and kids who want to eat healthier (and even have some fun doing it).

Expand the WIC program and give all children, regardless of income level, the right to live a long, healthy life.

(Photo credit: tiffanywashko on Flickr)

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Comments (10)

Like I always say, America needs to take care of Americans. Too much time and money is spent by people and organizations trying to help other countries in the world while they forget that there are people starving in the USA and living on the streets. I wasn't born in this country and I know that there is no hope where I am from because the government over there has no power over its own greed. So, I ask myself, why bother trying to help the poor over there when all efforts are going to be in vain. My family has given plenty to the poor in my country and most have not appreciated it. The ones who are really starving will take a handful of rice and eat it right out of your hand, and there are not that many of them. Even so, that is the way to help them over there and it doesn't take much. Anything coming from here all of a sudden costs billions of dollars and hunger is never conquered. However, if the same cost and effort is put in place in the USA, where the chances of a better organized program exists, will most definitely work. Then we can move on to Europe, Africa and the Caribbean!

Posted by Maritza Salvado on 03/26/2009 @ 12:00PM PT
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I don't know much about this yet, but am learning. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

It appears to me that WIC cuts off at age five because the National (federal) School Lunch Program takes effect when a child starts school. I don't know whether this is good or bad. It just seems to be logical. WIC appears to be administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, and the School Lunch Program seems to be administered by the Department of Agriculture. Maybe these agencies didn't want to set themselves up for future conflict.

So, there are two federal programs, on top of that there are
the Supplementary Nutritional Assistance Programs (SNAP, used to be called "Food Stamps") that are administered by the various states.

This seems to be an extremely ineffective way of handling nutritional policy. It would seem expedient to have one co-ordinated program administered by the federal government. The Food Stamp Program (might never get used to "SNAP") should be as detailed in permitted food as WIC is. Also, I wouldn't let my cat eat the junk that appears on some public school lunch menus.

Children, of any economic status, should have nutritious food whether they are seven months, or seven years. So should adults whether they are 30 or 70--particularly if they are eating on taxpayer's dime.

Posted by C W on 03/26/2009 @ 12:24PM PT
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Thanks for the comment, Cecily.

Both the National School Lunch Program and WIC are run by the USDA (as is the SNAP program). They're run by the USDA's Food and Nutrition Services division.

I think you have a great idea to integrate these programs so that the quality of food available through each is roughly equivilant. It would go a long way towards providing low-income families with a steady supply of nutritional food from year-to-year without always having to worry about age-limits and eligibility requirements.

Also, to me, NSLP and WIC should not be mutually exclusive. Kids need healthy food ALL the time, not just during the week when they're at school. If WIC were expanded it could be used to supplement NSLP, instead of replacing it.

ALL of these programs--WIC, NSLP and SNAP--should reinforce and supplement each other instead of passing families back and forth between them.

Posted by Greg Plotkin on 03/26/2009 @ 12:56PM PT
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I couldn't agree more with combining these programs to create a continuum of food security for low income children and families. I think this should be an integral part of and is probably a necessary step to both Obama and Ag Secretary Vilsack's commitment to End Child Hunger by 2015.

An even more progressive idea might be automatic enrollment in these programs based on IRS tax filing. It seems it would be better to make the enrollment in these programs the default, and then if you want to opt-out (for pride or whatever), you may do so easily. This might be too soon a reform for now, but I sincerely hope we are leading to it.

Posted by Michael Paone on 03/29/2009 @ 09:55AM PT
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It seems like they finally got around to following common sense. This is a great thing.

Posted by Michele Rodriguez on 03/26/2009 @ 01:47PM PT
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Thanks, Greg.

Good Grief!!! If all three of these programs are run by the same agency it makes even less sense that they are not better coordinated. I'm also reasonably sure that such inefficiencies raise the costs of all these programs.

At least one of them (WIC) is coordinating with My Pyramid. All three should be co-ordinated so as to be seamless.

Posted by C W on 03/26/2009 @ 02:58PM PT
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its kind of interesting kids eat less and the food stamps gives and this means more than for adults even those with special diet needs for health.
it makes sense wic for formula baby food and diapers but not once regular food is consumed.
what they need to do is limit -or not allow soda pre-baked junk candy on food stamps. i was in a family hud complex kids sent off to school with a bag of chips for breakfast was common.
Unless you have no cooking facilities - cook and bake America rich and poor!HOME EC FOR EVERY GIRL AND BOY IN 8TH GRADE AnD HS. PS: there's always plenty of let them eat cake and white bread items at the food banks

Posted by DARLENE MATTHEWS on 03/27/2009 @ 05:25PM PT
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I remember years ago when I had cancer, my children and I were on food stamps (single mother). The problem was that you could not afford the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables on food stamps and eat the rest of the month. We were lucky if you could get enough cheap chicken for meat and I never bought chips or soda or any snack food. The alternative was a lot of potatoes, pasta and rice. And if you went to the food banks for additional help...they passed out rice, processed cheese if we were lucky, and old bread that was on the verge of molding. We got a lot of rice.
I think that people on food stamps need training...in shopping, recipes, etc. But not even that would not completely solve the problem because you would still have people who do not know how to cook or just to lazy to.... And then you have parents who give into crying screaming kids who want their soda or french fries or candy and chips. I refused to buy that stuff for my kids and then they would get it supplied by the school.

Posted by Sharon Blasingame on 03/28/2009 @ 12:36PM PT
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I forgot to mention... The kids are all grown up and gone and Im on Social Security Disability, living below poverty level, barely surviving. I am not allowed food stamps in CA because I am on SSD. So my meals still consist of a lot of fillers like potatoes and rice. The nutritional problem does not stop at just children....

Posted by Sharon Blasingame on 03/28/2009 @ 12:40PM PT
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Nice information. Buy Avodart

Posted by Buy Avodart James Paul on 04/02/2009 @ 10:22PM PT
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Author

Greg Plotkin is currently a grant-writer living in Washington, DC. As a two-year AmeriCorps member teaching in DC Public Schools, he saw families struggling with poverty on a daily basis and has become particularly interested in hunger, nutrition and food access issues. He has also viewed poverty through the lens of his work with Habitat for Humanity and Charlie's Place--a DC soup kitchen and homeless support center.