- Who
is eligible?
- What
is "nutritional risk"?
- How
many people does WIC serve?
- What
percent of eligible people does WIC reach?
- Where
is WIC available?
- What
food benefits do WIC participants receive?
- Who
gets first priority for participation?
- What
is the WIC infant formula rebate system?
- What
is the WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program?
- How
much does WIC cost?
1. Who is eligible?
Pregnant or postpartum women, infants,
and children up to age 5 are eligible. They must meet
income guidelines, a State residency requirement, and
be individually determined to be at "nutritional risk"
by a health professional.
To be eligible on the basis of income,
applicants' gross income (i.e. before taxes are withheld)
must fall at or below 185 percent of the U.S. Poverty
Income Guidelines:
|
Income
Eligibility Guidelines
(effective 7/1/03 - 6/30/04)
|
|
Annually
|
Monthly
|
Weekly
|
| Family
of 1 |
$16,613 |
$1,385 |
$320 |
| Family
of 2 |
$22,422 |
$1,869 |
$432 |
| Family
of 3 |
$28,231 |
$2,353 |
$543 |
| Family
of 4 |
$34,040 |
$2,837 |
$655 |
| Family
of 5 |
$39,849 |
$3,321 |
$767 |
| Family
of 6 |
$45,658 |
$3,805 |
$879 |
| Family
of 7 |
$51,467 |
$4,289 |
$990 |
| Family
of 8 |
$57,276 |
$4,773 |
$1,102 |
| For
each add'l family member, add |
+5,809 |
+485 |
+112 |
While most States use the maximum guidelines,
States may set lower income limit standards. A person
or certain family members who participate in other benefits
programs such as the Food Stamp Program, Medicaid, or
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families automatically
meet the income eligibility requirement.
2. What is "nutritional
risk"?
Two major types of nutritional risk
are recognized for WIC eligibility:
- Medically-based risks (designated
as "high priority") such as anemia, underweight, maternal
age, history of pregnancy complications, or poor pregnancy
outcomes.
- Diet-based risks such as inadequate
dietary pattern.
Nutritional risk is determined by a
health professional such as a physician, nutritionist,
or nurse, and is based on Federal guidelines. This health
screening is free to program applicants.
Beginning April 1, 1999, State agencies
use WIC nutrition risk criteria from a list established
for use in the WIC Program. WIC nutrition risk criteria
were developed by FNS in conjunction with State and
local WIC agency experts. WIC State agencies are not
required to use all of the nutritional risk criteria
on the new list. FNS will update the list of criteria,
as necessary, when new scientific evidence shows, after
review by FNS and other health and nutrition experts,
that the condition can be improved by providing WIC
program benefits and services.
3. How many people does
WIC serve?
More than 7 million people get WIC benefits
each month. Participation has risen steadily since the
program began. In 1974, the first year WIC was permanently
authorized, 88,000 people participated. By 1980, participation
was at 1.9 million; by 1990 it was 4.5 million; and
by 2000 it was 7.2 million. Average monthly participation
for Fiscal Year 2002 was approximately 7.5 million.
Children have always been the largest
category of WIC participants. The average monthly WIC
participation for FY 2002 was approximately 7.5 million
people - of that number, nearly 3.8 million were
children, over 1.9 million were infants, and over 1.8
million were women.
4. What percent of eligible
people does WIC reach?
About 47 percent of all babies born
in the United States, and it is currently estimated
that we have achieved full coverage of eligible infants.
Of all eligible women, infants, and children, the program
is estimated to serve about 93 percent.
5. Where is WIC available?
The WIC program is available in each
State, the District of Columbia, 33 Indian Tribal Organizations,
Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and
Guam.
6. What food benefits do
WIC participants receive?
In most WIC State agencies, WIC participants
receive checks or food instruments to purchase specific
foods each month which are designed to supplement their
diets. WIC food is high in one or more of the following
nutrients: protein, calcium, iron, and vitamins A and
C. These are the nutrients frequently lacking in the
diets of the program's low-income target population.
Different food packages are provided for different categories
of participants. A few WIC State agencies distribute
WIC foods through warehouses or deliver WIC foods to
participants.
WIC foods include iron-fortified infant
formula and infant cereal, iron-fortified adult cereal,
vitamin C-rich fruit and/or vegetable juice, eggs, milk,
cheese, peanut butter, dried beans or peas, tuna fish
and carrots. Special infant formulas and certain medical
foods may be provided when prescribed by a physician
or health professional for a specified medical condition.
7. Who gets first priority
for participation?
WIC cannot serve all eligible people,
so a system of priorities has been established for filling
program openings. Once a local WIC agency has reached
its maximum caseload, vacancies are generally filled
in the order of the following priority levels:
- Pregnant women, breastfeeding women,
and infants determined to be at nutritional risk because
of serious medical problems.
- Infants up to 6 months of age whose
mothers participated in WIC or could have participated
and had serious medical problems.
- Children (up to age 5) at nutritional
risk because of serious medical problems.
- Pregnant or breastfeeding women and
infants at nutritional risk because of dietary problems
(like poor diet).
- Children (up to age 5) at nutritional
risk because of dietary problems.
- Non-breastfeeding, postpartum women
with any nutritional risk.
- Individuals at nutritional risk only
because they are homeless or migrants, and current
participants who without WIC foods could continue
to have medical and/or dietary problems.
8. What is the WIC infant
formula rebate system?
Mothers participating in WIC are encouraged
to breastfeed their infants if possible, but State WIC
agencies will provide formula to mothers who choose
to use it. WIC State agencies are required by law to
have competitively-bid infant formula rebate contracts
with infant formula manufacturers. This means a WIC
State agency agrees to provide one brand of infant formula
to its participants and in return receives money back,
called a rebate, from the manufacturer for each can
of infant formula that is purchased by WIC participants.
As a result, WIC pays the lowest possible price for
infant formula. The brand of infant formula provided
by WIC varies from State agency to State agency, depending
on which company has the rebate contract in a particular
State.
The WIC Program gets back over a billion
dollars each year from infant formula manufacturers.
This is a big savings to the WIC Program which allows
many more eligible women, infants, and children to be
served. From October 2001to September 2002, nearly $1.5
billion was given back to WIC State agencies by infant
formula manufacturers and this money was used to serve
about 2.1 million additional eligible women, infants
and children. In general, approximately 1 out of every
4 participants is served with rebate money.
9. What is the WIC Farmers’
Market Nutrition Program?
The WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program
(FMNP), established in 1992, provides additional coupons
to WIC participants that they can use to purchase fresh
fruits and vegetables at participating farmers' markets.
FMNP is funded through a Congressionally mandated set-aside
in the WIC appropriation. The program has two goals:
To provide fresh, nutritious, unprepared, locally grown
fruits and vegetables, from farmers' markets to WIC
participants who are at nutritional risk; and to expand
consumers' awareness and use of farmers' markets.
This program, operated in conjunction
with the regular WIC Program, was offered in 32 States,
the District of Columbia, and two Indian tribal organizations
in FY 1998. State agencies may define locally grown
produce to be that grown only within State borders or
may also define it to include areas in neighboring States
adjacent to its borders. The amount appropriated for
FMNP for Fiscal Year 2003 is $25 million.
By November 15 of each year, each applying
or participating State agency must submit to the FNS
Regional Office for approval a State plan for the following
year as a prerequisite to receiving funds. FMNP State
Plan guidance may also be obtained at the FNS Regional
Office.
An administering FMNP State agency may
be the agriculture department, the health department,
or any other agency approved by the chief executive
officer of the State or Indian Tribal organization.
10. How much does WIC
cost?
Congress appropriated $4.696 billion
for WIC in FY 2003. The appropriation includes $25 million
for the WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program.
By comparison, the WIC program cost
$10.4 million in 1974; $727.7 million in 1980; $1.5
billion in 1985; and $2.1 billion in 1990.
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