Economic Research Report No. (ERR-207) 34 pp

May 2016

WIC Household Food Purchases Using WIC Benefits or Paying Out of Pocket: A Case Study of Cold Cereal Purchases

by Diansheng Dong, Hayden Stewart, Elizabeth Frazão, Andrea Carlson, and Jeffrey Hyman

WIC households incur no cost for WIC-approved foods, and economic theory suggests they may be less sensitive to prices when using WIC benefits than when paying out of pocket. ERS examines this assumption in a case study of WIC households' choices in purchasing cold cereals.

Keywords: WIC, cost containment, cold cereal, unit value, FoodAPS data

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