Changes in Access to Healthy Foods after Implementation of the WIC Food Package Revisions

by Tatiana Andreyeva, Joerg Luedicke, Ann E. Middleton, Michael W. Long, and Marlene B. Schwartz

Recent revisions to the food packages provided by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) added healthy foods and required WIC-authorized stores to make these foods available. This study examined the availability, variety, and prices of healthy foods before and after implementation of the food package revisions in 252 convenience and nonchain grocery stores in Connecticut. The findings provide strong evidence that stores responded to the food package revisions by improving the availability and variety of healthy foods in both urban and suburban settings. Most of these improvements occurred in WIC-authorized convenience and grocery stores, especially those in low-income neighborhoods. Some positive changes in the availability of whole-grain products were also observed in non-WIC convenience and grocery stores. The policy change, which targets WIC participants, improved access to healthy foods for both WIC and non-WIC consumers.

This study was conducted by Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, Yale University under a cooperative research agreement with USDA’s EconomicResearch Service (ERS) Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program (FANRP): agreement number 59-5000-8-0105 (ERS project representative:Elizabeth Frazao). The views expressed are those of the authors and notnecessarily those of ERS or USDA.

Keywords: Nutrition policy, Connecticut, Food prices , food availability, food supply, health foods, WIC Program, food policy

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