By Gilberto Soria Mendoza

Like NCSL, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program is celebrating its 40 year anniversary in 2014.

For the past four decades WIC has served as a nutrition education resource for pregnant mothers and families across the country. Specifically, WIC provides nutrition education, supplemental food, healthcare referrals, and breastfeeding support to low-income pregnant and postpartum women, infants, and children up to age 5.

In fiscal year 2013, an average of 8.6 million people participated in the WIC Program (4.6 million children, 2 million infants and 2 million women) per month.

Applicants must meet four eligibility requirements: categorical, residential, income, and nutrition risk to qualify for WIC. The WIC Program provides nutrition assistance through the prescription of food packages according to the health needs of participants. There are seven food packages that were revised in March 2014.

Over the past 40 years there has been much advancement in how WIC provides nutritious resources to pregnant women and infants. As WIC looks to the next 40 years, the program will have to work with states to implement innovative new technologies and policies to ensure it continues to provide help and resources to those who need it.

The 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act requires all states to implement a statewide EBT system by October 2020.  Most WIC agencies still provide checks or vouchers to participants to purchase the foods at state-approved retailers, but the use of Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards is increasing with nine states complete and another 39 states in the planning or implementation stage.

For more information on WIC see our September 2014 NCSL Legisbrief Supporting the Health and Nutrition of Pregnant Women, Infants and Children Legisbrief and visit the NCSL Hunger Partnership website for other issues surrounding hunger.

Gilberto Soria Mendoza is a policy associate for the NCSL Hunger Partnership.

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