Federally Administered Means-Tested Programs - Special Supplemental Food Program For Women, Infants, And Children (wic)

The WIC program provides food assistance as well as nutrition counseling and health services to low-income pregnant women, to women who have just given birth and their babies, and to low-income children up to five years old. Participants in the program must have incomes at or below 185 percent of poverty (all but five states use this cutoff level) and must be nutritionally at risk.

Under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, nutritional risk includes abnormal nutritional conditions, medical conditions related to nutrition, health-impairing dietary deficiencies, or conditions that might predispose a person to these conditions. Pregnant women may receive benefits

TABLE 8.8
Income eligibility guidelines for free or reduced-price meals, July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004

	Federal poverty guidelines			Reduced price meals 185%			Free meals 130%
Household size	Annual	Month	Week	Annual	Month	Week	Annual	Month	Week
48 contiguous United States, District of Columbia, Guam & Territories
1	8,980	749	173	16,613	1,385	320	11,674	973	225
2	12,120	1,010	234	22,422	1,869	432	15,756	1,313	303
3	15,260	1,272	294	28,231	2,353	543	19,838	1,654	382
4	18,400	1,534	354	34,040	2,837	655	23,920	1,994	460
5	21,540	1,795	415	39,849	3,321	767	28,002	2,334	539
6	24,680	2,057	475	45,658	3,805	879	32,084	2,674	617
7	27,820	2,319	535	51,467	4,289	990	36,166	3,014	696
8	30,960	2,580	596	57,276	4,773	1,102	40,248	3,354	774
For each add'l family member add	3,140	262	61	5,809	485	112	4,082	341	79
Alaska
1	11,210	935	216	20,739	1,729	399	14,573	1,215	281
2	15,140	1,262	292	28,009	2,335	539	19,682	1,641	379
3	19,070	1,590	367	35,280	2,940	679	24,791	2,066	477
4	23,000	1,917	443	42,550	3,546	819	29,900	2,492	575
5	26,930	2,245	518	49,821	4,152	959	35,009	2,918	674
6	30,860	2,572	594	57,091	4,758	1,098	40,118	3,344	772
7	34,790	2,900	670	64,362	5,364	1,238	45,227	3,769	870
8	38,720	3,227	745	71,632	5,970	1,378	50,336	4,195	968
For each add'l family member add	3,930	328	76	7,271	606	140	5,109	426	99
Hawaii
1	10,330	861	199	19,111	1,593	368	13,429	1,120	259
2	13,940	1,162	269	25,789	2,150	496	18,122	1,511	349
3	17,550	1,463	338	32,468	2,706	625	22,815	1,902	439
4	21,160	1,764	407	39,146	3,263	753	27,508	2,293	529
5	24,770	2,065	477	45,825	3,819	882	32,201	2,684	620
6	28,380	2,365	546	52,503	4,376	1,010	36,894	3,075	710
7	31,990	2,666	616	59,182	4,932	1,139	41,587	3,466	800
8	35,600	2,967	685	65,860	5,489	1,267	46,280	3,857	890
For each add'l family member add	3,610	301	70	6,679	557	129	4,693	392	91
SOURCE: "Attachment 3. Income Eligibility Guidelines for Free or Reduced-Price Meals, Effective from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004," in Summer Food Service Program for Children: 2004 Administrative Guidance for Sponsors, United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, January 2004 [Online] http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Summer/library/AdminAttach2004.pdf [accessed January 29, 2004]

throughout their pregnancies and for up to six months after childbirth (up to one year for nursing mothers).

Those receiving WIC benefits get supplemental food each month in the form of actual food items or, more commonly, vouchers (coupons) for the purchase of specific items at the store. Permitted foods contain high amounts of protein, iron, calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Items that may be purchased include milk, cheese, eggs, infant formula, cereals, and fruit or vegetable juices. Mothers participating in WIC are encouraged to breast-feed their infants if possible, but state WIC agencies will provide formula for mothers who choose to use it.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated that the national average monthly cost of a WIC food package in 2003 was $35.23 per participant, including food and administrative costs. In fiscal year 2003 estimated federal costs for the WIC program were $4.5 billion, and the program served approximately 7.6 million women, infants, and children. (See Table 8.11.) WIC works in conjunction with the Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, established in 1992, to provide WIC recipients with increased access, in the form of vouchers, to fresh fruits and vegetables.

WIC is not an entitlement program. That is, the number of participants is limited by the amount of funds available rather than by eligibility. In 1999 the federal government estimated that WIC reached about 97 percent of eligible women, infants, and children. Of the 7.6 million participants, 3.7 million were children, 1.9 million were infants, and 1.7 million were women.

A study conducted in 1998 for the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Survey of WIC Participants, 2001 Final Report (Nancy Cole and Julie Kresge, Alexandria, VA, 2001), found that almost two-thirds of WIC recipients reside in families whose income is below the poverty guidelines. Nonetheless, three-fourths of WIC families receive income from wages.

Nearly 8 million participants were enrolled in WIC in April 1998, but the number of participants who cashed in or picked up vouchers was lower, at 7.4 million. Almost half of the women enrolled (45.2 percent) were never married, 44.1 percent were married, and the remaining 10.7 percent were widowed, separated, or divorced. Of the women enrolled in WIC in 1998, 11.1 percent were pregnant, 4.8 percent were breastfeeding, and 7.3 were classified

TABLE 8.9
National school lunch program: Participation and lunches served, 1969–2003
(Data as of December 19, 2003)

	Average participation
	Free	Reduced price	Full price	Total	Total lunches served	Percent free/RP of total
Fiscal year	Millions					%
1969	2.9	*	16.5	19.4	3,368.2	15.1
1970	4.6	*	17.8	22.4	3,565.1	20.7
1971	5.8	0.5	17.8	24.1	3,848.3	26.1
1972	7.3	0.5	16.6	24.4	3,972.1	32.4
1973	8.1	0.5	16.1	24.7	4,008.8	35.0
1974	8.6	0.5	15.5	24.6	3,981.6	37.1
1975	9.4	0.6	14.9	24.9	4,063.0	40.3
1976	10.2	0.8	14.6	25.6	4,147.9	43.1
1977	10.5	1.3	14.5	26.2	4,250.0	44.8
1978	10.3	1.5	14.9	26.7	4,294.1	44.4
1979	10.0	1.7	15.3	27.0	4,357.4	43.6
1980	10.0	1.9	14.7	26.6	4,387.0	45.1
1981	10.6	1.9	13.3	25.8	4,210.6	48.6
1982	9.8	1.6	11.5	22.9	3,755.0	50.2
1983	10.3	1.5	11.2	23.0	3,803.3	51.7
1984	10.3	1.5	11.5	23.4	3,826.2	51.0
1985	9.9	1.6	12.1	23.6	3,890.1	49.1
1986	10.0	1.6	12.2	23.7	3,942.5	49.1
1987	10.0	1.6	12.4	23.9	3,939.9	48.6
1988	9.8	1.6	12.8	24.2	4,032.9	47.4
1989	9.8	1.6	12.9	24.3	4,004.9	47.2
1990	9.9	1.7	12.6	24.1	4,009.1	48.3
1991	10.3	1.8	12.1	24.2	4,050.9	50.4
1992	11.2	1.7	11.7	24.6	4,101.9	53.0
1993	11.8	1.7	11.3	24.9	4,137.7	54.8
1994	12.2	1.8	11.3	25.3	4,201.8	55.9
1995	12.5	1.9	11.3	25.7	4,253.4	56.4
1996	12.7	2.0	11.3	25.9	4,313.2	56.9
1997	13.0	2.1	11.3	26.3	4,409.0	57.6
1998	13.1	2.2	11.3	26.6	4,424.9	57.8
1999	13.0	2.4	11.6	26.9	4,513.2	57.6
2000	13.0	2.5	11.8	27.2	4,575.1	57.1
2001	12.9	2.6	12.0	27.5	4,584.6	56.8
2002	13.3	2.6	12.0	28.0	4,716.8	57.6
2003	13.7	2.7	11.9	28.3	4,744.7	58.5
FY 2003 data are preliminary; all data are subject to revision. Participation data are 9 month averages (summer months are excluded).
*Included with free meals.
SOURCE: "National School Lunch Program: Participation and Lunches Served, as of December 19, 2003," United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, December 22, 2003 [Online] http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/slsummar.htm [accessed January 29, 2004]

as post-partum. The study found significant changes in caseloads and the racial composition of participants between 1988 and 1998. Caseloads in the western states grew from 13 percent to 24 percent of total WIC participants, primarily due to growth in the Hispanic population in the West. Hispanic participants increased from 21 percent of the caseload in 1988 to 32 percent in 1998.