The increased allotments have tripled the amount of fruits and vegetables that WIC recipients are buying with their benefits, based on the association's survey of 29 state agencies.

We’re very encouraged to see that,” said Brian Dittmeier, senior director of public policy for the National WIC Association, a group that advocates for the program. The big increase in the fruit and vegetable allotment provided by Congress is a “pretty strong indication of where Congress and USDA are signaling they’d like to move the fruit and vegetable numbers to in the food package. There are distinct lists of eligible foods depending on the age of the children or whether the woman is pregnant or breastfeeding. 1.)Īdvocates for the WIC program are counting on USDA to make the increase permanent when it rewrites rules for what’s known as the WIC “food package,” the list of foods that beneficiaries are allowed to purchase.

(Congressional Democrats and Republicans have yet to agree on a top-line number for FY22 spending, even though the fiscal year started Oct. 18, so the increased WIC allotments will expire March 31 unless Congress acts to extend them through a new CR, or by passing a FY22 spending bill. The increased WIC allotments were extended again, this time until March 31, though a stopgap spending bill enacted in December. 31 under a continuing resolution that was passed in September to keep the government funded into fiscal 2022. Congress subsequently extended the increase through Dec. Now, children are getting $24 per month and women are getting $43 a month - $47 if they’re breastfeeding.The allotments were originally raised under the American Rescue Plan, the coronavirus relief bill enacted last March, but that increase was set to lapse at the end of September. Until last year, WIC recipients were limited to allotments for fruits and vegetables of $9 a month for children and $11 for women. Unlike SNAP, WIC benefits can only be used to purchase a select list of foods, which is tailored to meet the dietary needs of pregnant and nursing mothers as well as infants and young children.Ībout 45% of all infants born in the United States are eligible for WIC, which currently serves about 1.4 million women and 4.8 million children. The Women, Infants and Children program is the largest federal nutrition program after the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and National School Lunch Program.

Wic approved foods nc effective 2017