Economic Information Bulletin No. (EIB-134) 88 pp

January 2015

The WIC Program: Background, Trends, and Economic Issues, 2015 Edition

WIC provides supplemental food, nutrition education, and referrals to health care and other social services to low-income, nutritionally at-risk women, infants, and children up to 5 years of age. This report explains how WIC works, examines program trends, describes some of the lesser known effects of WIC, and discusses some of the major economic issues facing the program.

Keywords: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, WIC, spillover effects, geographic distribution, economic conditions, infant formula rebates, price insensitivity, equity issues

In this publication...