WIC News and Resources

WIC Remote Services Extended through January 2023

New Social Media Toolkit: Breastfeeding Education and Support

Our new social media toolkit highlights the many ways WIC supports a participant’s breastfeeding journey. With expert breastfeeding education and support, experienced peer counselors, free pumps and supplies, and resources for partners and others in a support role, WIC helps participants meet their breastfeeding goals. Explore our WIC Breastfeeding Education and Support Toolkit to find social media content you can immediately put to use, including sample language in English and Spanish and a large assortment of high-resolution graphics like the images below.

Action Needed to #ExtendtheWICBump

Reports show that increases in WIC benefits have led to increased fruit and veggie consumption among WIC-enrolled children and a greater variety of produce purchased by WIC families. Unless funding is extended, participants will lose access to WIC's enhanced vegetables and fruits after September 30. Please take two minutes to add your voice to this national effort and share it along with #ExtendTheWICBump to support the long-term health of children with early nutrition interventions like the WIC Bump.

White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health Is Tomorrow! Watch Online or at a Watch Party Near You!

On September 28, the Biden-Harris Administration will host a conference on hunger, nutrition and health, more than 50 years after the first conference of its kind. The inaugural conference, held in 1969, had a pivotal impact on our nation’s ability to combat hunger and increase access to nutrition, leading to major expansions of SNAP and school meals, and the creation of WIC.

Once again, we have the opportunity to chart a course for the future. As this historic event is livestreamed on September 28, and for the weeks and months after, we are all invited to participate. Learn more about hosting a watch party and priorities from the WIC community. You are also invited to register here to join the National WIC Association’s watch party, which will be held on September 28, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. ET. 

State and National Research and Resources Round-Up

Check out the latest research and resources from our partners around the state and nation.

New York Health Foundation

• The NYHealth Survey of Food and Health presents findings from a statewide survey on food insecurity and describes the connections between food and health for New Yorkers. Key takeaways include:
  • Food-insecure New Yorkers are twice as likely to rate their health as ‘fair’ or ‘poor’ and make health care sacrifices such as delaying or skipping medical care.
  • New Yorkers who participate in nutrition programs such as SNAP and WIC rate them highly, reporting they “strongly agree” or “agree” the program is easy to use.
  • Nutrition programs are underutilized, with 13% of food-insecure New Yorkers enrolled in WIC, 45% enrolled in SNAP, and 22% receiving school meals.
  • Ninety-three percent of individuals who participated in WIC during the pandemic want the services made available during this time, such as remote benefit issuance and re-enrollment, to be made permanent.

Feeding America

• Map the Meal Gap estimates food insecurity for the overall population and children at the local level. In New York State in 2020, 1 in 7 children, or 14.6%, were food insecure, a decrease from 15.6% in 2019. Although 2021 data for NYS is not yet available, recent national data (see below) give hope.

USDA Economic Research Service

• Food insecurity among U.S. households with children fell to 12.5% last year — the lowest rate in over 20 years — according to USDA’s Household Food Security in the United States in 2021 report. For households with children under age six, food insecurity fell from 15.3% to 12.9%. The progress was made in a year when several pandemic-related social safety net programs and child nutrition program flexibilities were in place to mitigate spikes in hunger caused by the pandemic.

United States Census Bureau

• Child poverty, calculated by the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), fell to its lowest recorded level in 2021, declining 46% from 9.7% in 2020 to 5.2% in 2021, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released this month. Between 2020 and 2021, Black child poverty rates slid by 8.8 percentage points to 8.1%. Similarly, Hispanic child poverty rates fell by 6.3 percentage points to 8.4% in that one year. The new data show the significant impact the expansion of anti-poverty programs during the COVID-19 pandemic had on reducing child poverty.

And Because September Is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month …

• According to the CDC, obesity affects low-income children more than children from families with higher income. Nearly 90% of WIC participants are from households with income at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. CDC and USDA analyzed data from the WIC Participant and Program Characteristics 2020 Report and found a decade-long decline in childhood obesity in WIC families, specifically among children aged 2-4. In New York State, the obesity rate dropped from 16.1% in 2010 to 13.8% in 2020. WIC helps reduce these risks by providing nutrition education, promoting healthy eating, and providing families with individually tailored food packages that increase access to healthier food and dietary quality.

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