The WIC Program: Overview

WIC is administered by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and is available in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, 34 Indian Tribal Organizations, American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth Islands of the Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

To qualify for WIC, an applicant must be either a pregnant or postpartum woman, an infant younger than 1, or a child up to his or her fifth birthday. WIC applicants must have family income at or below 185 percent of the U.S. poverty level or participate in the Food Stamp Program, Medicaid, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program. Applicants must also meet a State residency requirement and be at nutritional risk, as determined by a health professional, such as a physician, nutritionist, or nurse.

WIC is not an entitlement program—that is, Congress does not set aside funds to allow every eligible individual to participate in the program—but a Federal grant program for which Congress authorizes a specific amount of funding each year for program operations. Cost-containment practices—especially infant formula rebates—play a major role in increasing the number of participants the WIC program can serve.

WIC State agencies are legally required to enter into cost-containment contracts for the purchase of infant formula used in WIC. After competitive bidding, WIC State agencies typically award a contract to a single manufacturer of infant formula for the exclusive right to provide its product to WIC participants. In return, WIC State agencies obtain significant discounts in the form of rebates from infant formula manufacturers. In fiscal 2004, infant formula rebates totaled about $1.6 billion and supported over one in every four WIC participants.

Different food packages are provided for different categories of participants. All packages provide foods that are high in one or more of the following nutrients: protein, iron, calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C. FNS has begun to revise these food packages according to recommendations by the Food and Nutrition Board’s Committee to Review the WIC Food Packages (see National Academies Press website).

Additional information on WIC is available at the FNS website, including:

• Eligibility guidelines.
• How to apply for the program.
• Program benefits and services, such as breastfeeding promotion and support, nutrition services, and food packages (and proposed revisions).
• Program data.
• Research reports.
• Laws and regulations.
• State agency contact information.
• The Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program.
• Additional reports on WIC are available at the National Academies Press website.