Written by Leah Douglas
(Reuters) – About 7 million low-income women and children will be able to buy more fruits and vegetables after the U.S. Department of Agriculture finalized changes to a key federal nutrition program on Tuesday. , the purchase of dairy products will decrease.
Updates to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the first since 2014, were made to better align the program’s food packages with best dietary science, the USDA says. said.
“These participant-centered changes will strengthen WIC by ensuring that the food participants receive reflects the latest nutritional science and supports healthy diets and brighter futures,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. It will strengthen it.”
WIC participants receive benefits to purchase certain foods based on their age and dietary needs. USDA proposed changes to the program in November 2022 and received more than 17,000 comments, the agency said.
The last provision increases the allowances for fruits, vegetables, and seafood, and reduces the amounts for juices, dairy products, and cheese. We will also be adding non-dairy options such as plant-based and lactose-free milks.
“The National WIC Association commends the Department of Agriculture for adhering to the independent, science-based review process that led to these stronger standards,” Georgia Machel, the group’s interim president and CEO, said in a statement. We ask for prompt implementation.”
The change was criticized by dairy advocacy groups.
“(The National Milk Producers Federation) is upset by the decision to reduce intake of essential nutrients that dairy products add to the diet,” Greg Dowd, president and CEO of the group, said in a statement. .
WIC is managed by USDA and serves 6.6 million pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women and children up to age 5.
Congress recently expanded funding for WIC after the White House and nutrition advocates warned that budget shortfalls put millions of eligible families at risk of being denied.
(Reporting by Leah Douglas; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
