by Amy Spangler
December 09, 2007

For the first time in nearly three decades, food packages provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) have been revised.

“We’re pleased to announce that the new food packages, based on the Dietary Guidelines, will include fruits, vegetables and whole grains, which are essential to a healthier diet,” said Acting Secretary of Agriculture Chuck Conner.

“The addition of these foods better reflect the needs of over eight million low-income mothers and children in the WIC program,” added Conner.

The interim final rule, issued by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service, was published December 6 in the Federal Register. It largely follows recommendations made by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies in the final report of its review of the WIC food packages, WIC Food Packages: Time for a Change, as well as the latest nutrition science and the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Under the interim final rule, the food packages are revised to add new foods including fruits, vegetables and whole grains, while amounts of some current foods are modified. In addition, the new packages are very attractive for breastfeeding mother/infant pairs and provide incentives for breastfeeding, especially full breastfeeding.

WIC provides low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants, and children up to age 5 with nutritious supplemental foods. The program also provides nutrition education and referrals to health and social services. More than eight million participants receive WIC benefits each month, with a federal investment of over $5 billion in fiscal year 2006.

WIC food packages were first designed in 1974 to supplement participants’ diets with foods rich in five nutrients (vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, and protein) because those nutrients were lacking in the diets of the WIC target population. The new packages reflect not only the cultural diversity of WIC clients, but WIC’s ongoing commitment to breastfeeding.