WIC News and Resources

WIC Flexibilities Update: Remote Services and Fruit & Veggie Boost

Although the COVID-19 federal public health emergency expired on May 11, 2023, WIC remote services will continue. Additional waivers from USDA allows WIC agencies to continue to enroll and serve participants remotely via phone, text, and/or video conference and to continue to provide remote issuance of WIC benefits onto eWIC cards. Starting in August, all WIC applicants and participants will be provided the choice of an in-person or remote appointment.

WIC's temporary CVB fruit and vegetable benefit bump is extended through September 30, 2023. Temporary CVB amounts are set at 50% of fruit and vegetable consumption recommended in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Dietary Guidelines for Americans, resulting in monthly benefits of $25-49 per month each for eligible mothers and children. The benefit boost has improved access to nutritious food for WIC families, leading to increased fruit and vegetable consumption among enrolled children.

Visit the WIC Help New York Resource Center to get updated resources to promote these two vital WIC flexibilities.  

Visit the WIC Help New York Resource Center for New WIC Videos

The WIC Help New York Resource Center is a one-stop shop for WIC outreach and education materials. Our newest resources include short videos in English and Spanish focused on WIC’s breastfeeding education and support, as well as a Ready, Set, Grow with WIC video. Visit the resource center to find everything you need to spread the word and connect families to WIC, including these exciting new videos that you can share on social media, your website, and in other communications.

National Efforts to Modernize WIC

WIC is a powerful, evidence-based public health program with a long history of improving health and developmental outcomes for children. Given the program’s proven benefits, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is committed to modernizing WIC to maximize its impact throughout participants’ entire period of eligibility. FNS recently announced several major investments to support innovation and help reach more mothers and young children. These efforts are part of the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, which is focused on cutting the rates of maternal mortality and morbidity, reducing the disparities in maternal health outcomes, and improving the overall experience of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum for people across the country. To learn more, visit the WIC Modernization & Innovation webpage.

USDA Proposal Offers Online Shopping with WIC

In February, USDA announced proposed changes to allow online ordering in the WIC program. These changes will help to create simpler, more equitable shopping options for families served by WIC. USDA is working to remove regulatory barriers that prevent online shopping and adding other enhancements to streamline and modernize WIC, like allowing states to research and plan for innovative future technologies beyond the WIC electronic benefits transfer card. Part of the effort is meant to make some flexibilities offered during the pandemic available permanently. The proposed rule is also crafted to modernize current regulations that were written for a paper-based system.

State and National Research and Resources Round-Up

Here’s the latest research and resources from our partners around the state and nation.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM)
NASEM released a consensus report, Addressing the Long-term Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Families, that reviews the impact of COVID-19 on the health and well-being of children and families, and what needs to be done to reduce longer-term negative effects. In its multidisciplinary review of the literature, the committee found that across almost every outcome of well-being—education, social, emotional, physical, mental, and economic—low-income children and families in racially and ethnically minoritized communities experienced a disproportionately high burden from the pandemic, which is rooted in structural racism, reinforcing long-standing and pervasive inequities.The NASEM committee makes recommendations that provide a roadmap to providing essential supports to children and families to recover from the pandemic’s effects and to rectify the pre-existing inequities that created a disproportionate burden on minoritized and low-income children and families.

National WIC Association
The 2023 State of WIC report focuses on infant feeding, economic equity, nutrition security, and modernization of the WIC program. It brings lessons learned in 2022 to the forefront of the conversation on reforms, innovation, and policy. This report assesses the infant formula crisis, USDA’s proposed food package rule, and WIC’s role in building a healthier future for all.

New York State Comptroller 
Approximately one-in-ten, or about 800,000, New York households experienced food insecurity at some point between 2019-2021, according to a report from State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. New Yorkers in Need: Food Security and Nutrition Assistance Programs found that the number of households facing food insecurity declined during the COVID-19 pandemic due to federal relief programs and the expansion of federal food assistance programs. DiNapoli raised the concern that food insecurity may grow as federal benefits lapse. Notably, additional Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits expired on March 1. Among other recommendations, the report urges the federal government to extend temporary benefits for SNAP, WIC and school meal programs until inflation's impact on food costs subsides and raise eligibility levels for SNAP and WIC to at least 200 percent of the federal poverty level, while calling on states to conduct outreach to increase participation in SNAP and WIC and make it easier to apply and recertify.

Welcome Delsy and Dan, Hunger Solutions New York’s New Outreach Specialists for WIC

Hunger Solutions New York is thrilled to welcome two new outreach specialists to our WIC team—Delsy Joya-Reyes and Dan Vaughan-Cherubin! Delsy and Dan will round out our statewide work on WIC with a focus on locally based strategies to increase WIC participation. They will help to develop outreach and technical resources and work to build partnerships with community-based organizations, healthcare providers, and governmental agencies throughout the state.

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