Low-income women and children eligible for food assistance programs will receive less aid for milk but more cash to buy fruits and vegetables, the Agriculture Department announced Tuesday.
The department’s final rule brings the federally funded Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC, more in line with the government’s current dietary guidelines. This is the first update to the program in a decade and is scheduled to take effect in two years.
“These improvements to food packaging can have lifelong positive impacts on health and well-being,” Cindy Long, administrator of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, said in a statement.
Approximately 6.6 million mothers and children participated in WIC in fiscal year 2023, at an average monthly cost of $56 per person. To be eligible, participants’ household income must not exceed 185 percent of the federal poverty level, or approximately $37,800 for a family of two. The Department of Agriculture estimates that about half of those eligible take advantage of the program.
The new rules enact permanent changes during the pandemic. Participants received cash vouchers that could be redeemed for fruits and vegetables. It costs $9 a month for kids and $11 a month for mothers. However, these amounts, adjusted for inflation, have increased under legislation passed during the pandemic, making it $26 per month for children, $47 per month for pregnant and postpartum women, and $52 per month for nursing mothers. became.
These updates are consistent with findings released Tuesday by the National WIC Association, a nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of recipients. Of WIC’s 22,000 participants, 93 percent said fruit and vegetable vouchers were their top reason for enrollment, and more than 90 percent said those vouchers were of adequate or insufficient value. I answered that it is.
Under the new rules, the program will also reduce the amount of milk it provides to exclusively breastfeeding women from a maximum of 6 gallons per month to 4 gallons per month. 4 gallons to 3.5 gallons for children ages 2 to 4. 4 gallons to 3 gallons for infants. At the same time, participants can substitute plant-based, lactose-free products for dairy products and increase the amount of yogurt.
The milk cuts drew backlash from the dairy industry and members of Congress after the USDA proposed rule changes in November 2022.
In explaining the changes, the agency said the previous amount of milk was equivalent to 128 percent of the daily amount recommended in nutritional guidelines, while the latest amount is equivalent to 71 to 96 percent of the recommended amount. did.
The International Dairy Products Association, a trade group representing the industry and dairy farmers, said it opposed the final cuts but supported expanding alternatives.
“We are upset by the decision to reduce intake of essential nutrients that dairy products add to our diets,” Greg Dowd, president of the group, said in a statement.
Georgia Machel, interim president and CEO of the National WIC Association, welcomed the overall changes.
“We applaud USDA for adhering to an independent, science-based review process that led to these stronger standards,” the group said in a statement.
The new rule also requires breakfast cereals to contain 75 percent whole grains, a relaxation from the proposed rule’s requirement to adhere to the Dietary Guidelines’ 100 percent whole grain recommendation. The amount of juice has also decreased.
