IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/uersrr/335303.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): A New Look at Key Questions 10 Years After USDA Added Whole-Grain Bread to WIC Food Packages in 2009

Author

Listed:
  • Stewart, Hayden
  • Hyman, Jeffrey
  • McLaughlin, Patrick W.
  • Dong, Diansheng

Abstract

Given that most Americans do not consume enough whole grains to satisfy Federal dietary recommendations, in 2009, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA) altered its Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) by adding 100-percent whole-wheat bread (and other whole-grain options like brown rice) to food packages for children and pregnant or breastfeeding women. Published research suggests that participant diet quality has likely improved, but study results are mixed. Other research has explored the availability and cost of whole-grain products in the WIC-allowed, 1-pound (16-ounce) package size at retail stores. In 2014, USDA asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to convene a committee of experts to conduct an independent, comprehensive scientific review of WIC food packages and recommend cost-neutral changes in line with the nutritional status and food and nutrition needs of the WIC-eligible population. In 2017, that committee recommended a number of changes to participants’ food assistance benefits. These include offering bread and other whole-grain products in more standard package sizes. Concurrent to NASEM’s review of the WIC food package, the Agricultural Act of 2014 required the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to expand to include infants and toddlers from birth to 2 years, as well as women who are pregnant, beginning with the 2020 edition. USDA will consider changes to the WIC food packages once this work is complete. In this study, we use a combination of store- and household-level purchase data to revisit some key questions about WIC participants’ whole-grain benefits. We focus on bread in a case study of the products that may be purchased with these benefits.

Suggested Citation

  • Stewart, Hayden & Hyman, Jeffrey & McLaughlin, Patrick W. & Dong, Diansheng, 2019. "USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): A New Look at Key Questions 10 Years After USDA Added Whole-Grain Bread to WIC Food Packages in 2009," Economic Research Report 335303, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uersrr:335303
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.335303
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/335303/files/err-268.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.335303?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ver Ploeg, Michele & Mancino, Lisa & Todd, Jessica E. & Clay, Dawn Marie & Scharadin, Benjamin, 2015. "Where Do Americans Usually Shop for Food and How Do They Travel To Get There? Initial Findings from the National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey," Economic Information Bulletin 262116, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    2. Gleason, Stacy & Pooler, Jennifer, 2011. "The Effects of Changes in WIC Food Packages on Redemptions," Contractor and Cooperator Reports 312391, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Elina T Page & Elizabeth Larimore & John A Kirlin & Mark Denbaly, 2019. "The National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey: Innovations and Research Insights," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(2), pages 215-234, June.
    4. Muth, Mary K. & Sweitzer, Megan & Brown, Derick & Capogrossi, Kristen & Karns, Shawn A. & Levin, David & Okrent, Abigail & Siegel, Peter & Zhen, Chen, 2016. "Understanding IRI Household-Based and Store-Based Scanner Data," Technical Bulletins 234905, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    5. Todd, Jessica E. & Scharadin, Benjamin, 2016. "Where Households Get Food in a Typical Week: Findings From USDA's FoodAPS," Economic Information Bulletin 242450, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    6. Dong, Diansheng & Stewart, Hayden & Frazão, Elizabeth & Carlson, Andrea & Hyman, Jeffrey, 2016. "WIC Household Food Purchases Using WIC Benefits or Paying Out of Pocket: A Case Study of Cold Cereal Purchases," Economic Research Report 262197, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    7. Martinez, Stephen W. & Levin, David, 2017. "An Assessment of Product Turnover in the U.S. Food Industry and Effects on Nutrient Content," Economic Information Bulletin 283706, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Saitone, Tina L & Li, Xuemei & McLaughlin, Patrick W & Sexton, Richard J, 2021. "Cost Implications of Participant Product Selection in USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)," Economic Research Report 327184, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Elina T Page & Elizabeth Larimore & John A Kirlin & Mark Denbaly, 2019. "The National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey: Innovations and Research Insights," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(2), pages 215-234, June.
    2. Diansheng Dong & Yuqing Zheng & Hayden Stewart, 2020. "The effects of food sales taxes on household food spending: An application of a censored cluster model," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(5), pages 669-684, September.
    3. Lauren Chenarides & Edward C. Jaenicke, 2019. "Documenting the Link Between Poor Food Access and Less Healthy Product Assortment Across the U.S," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(3), pages 434-474, September.
    4. Chenarides, Lauren & Jaenicke, Edward C., 2016. "Store Choice and Consumer Behavior in Food Deserts: An Empirical Application of the Distance Metric Method," 2017 Allied Social Sciences Association (ASSA) Annual Meeting, January 6-8, 2017, Chicago, Illinois 250118, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Chenarides, Lauren & Jaenicke, Edward C. & Li, Jing, 2017. "Welfare Impacts from Store Attribute-Based Policy Interventions in an Urban Setting: An Application to Philadelphia," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258270, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    6. Benjamin Scharadin & Yang Yu & Edward C. Jaenicke, 2021. "Household time activities, food waste, and diet quality: the impact of non-marginal changes due to COVID-19," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 399-428, June.
    7. Martinez, Stephen & Taylor, Christopher A. & Hooker, Neal H., 2021. "Measuring the Potential Impact of New and Reformulated Bread and Breakfast Cereal Products on Nutrient Intakes," USDA Miscellaneous 312956, United States Department of Agriculture.
    8. McLaughlin, Patrick W. & Saksena, Michelle & Saitone, Tina L. & Ma, Meilin & Volpe, Richard & Wu, Qi & Sexton, Richard J., 2021. "Cost Containment and Participant Access in USDA's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC): Evidence from the Greater Los Angeles, CA, Area," USDA Miscellaneous 309614, United States Department of Agriculture.
    9. Printezis, Iryna & Grebitus, Carola, 2018. "Marketing Channels for Local Food," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 161-171.
    10. Scharadin, Benjamin, 2022. "The efficacy of the dependent care deduction at maintaining diet quality," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    11. Kyung Min Kang & Robert A. Moffitt, 2019. "The Effect of SNAP and School Food Programs on Food Security, Diet Quality, and Food Spending: Sensitivity to Program Reporting Error," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 86(1), pages 156-201, July.
    12. Zeballos, Eliana & Dong, Xiao & Islamaj, Ergys, 2023. "A Disaggregated View of Market Concentration in the Food Retail Industry," USDA Miscellaneous 333546, United States Department of Agriculture.
    13. Matthew J. Landry & Kim Phan & Jared T. McGuirt & Alek Ostrander & Lilian Ademu & Mia Seibold & Kathleen McCallops & Tara Tracy & Sheila E. Fleischhacker & Allison Karpyn, 2021. "USDA Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Vendor Criteria: An Examination of US Administrative Agency Variations," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-21, March.
    14. Catherine E. Martinez & Lorrene D. Ritchie & Danielle L. Lee & Marisa M. Tsai & Christopher E. Anderson & Shannon E. Whaley, 2022. "California WIC Participants Report Favorable Impacts of the COVID-Related Increase to the WIC Cash Value Benefit," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-15, August.
    15. Zeballos, Eliana & Mancino, Lisa & Lin, Biing-Hwan, 2020. "Does how you pay influence the share of healthy items that you Buy? Assessing differences in nutritional quality of food purchases by payment type," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    16. Stewart, Hayden & Kuchler, Fred & Dong, Diansheng & Cessna, Jerry, 2021. "Examining the Decline in U.S. Per Capita Consumption of Fluid Cow’s Milk, 2003–18," USDA Miscellaneous 316500, United States Department of Agriculture.
    17. Justine Hastings & Ryan Kessler & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2021. "The Effect of SNAP on the Composition of Purchased Foods: Evidence and Implications," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 277-315, August.
    18. Michael Carolan, 2021. "Putting food access in its topological place: thinking in terms of relational becomings when mapping space," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(1), pages 243-256, February.
    19. Grindal, Todd & Wilde, Parke & Schwartz, Gabe & Klerman, Jacob & Bartlett, Susan & Berman, Danielle, 2016. "Does food retail access moderate the impact of fruit and vegetable incentives for SNAP participants? Evidence from western Massachusetts," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 59-69.
    20. Amy Hillier & Tony E. Smith & Eliza D. Whiteman & Benjamin W. Chrisinger, 2017. "Discrete Choice Model of Food Store Trips Using National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey (FoodAPS)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-11, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:uersrr:335303. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ersgvus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.