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Nutrition leaders and mothers from across the country praised USDA’s finalized updates to the WIC food package and the positive implications it will have for women, infants, and young children who rely on this vital program.

Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has finalized updates to the foods prescribed to participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

Para abordar aún más la inseguridad alimentaria en Puerto Rico y proporcionar recursos más equitativos a lugares remotos, el Servicio de Alimentos y Nutrición (FNS) del USDA proporcionará un mayor beneficio a las familias de Puerto Rico, en comparación con el territorio continental de los EE.UU., a través del nuevo y permanente programa de nutrición de verano para niños - conocido como Transferencia Electrónica de Beneficios de Verano (EBT de verano).

To further address food insecurity in the U.S. Virgin Islands and provide more equitable resources for island communities, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service will provide a higher benefit to territory families, as compared to the U.S. mainland, through the new, permanent summer nutrition program for children – known as Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer. 

To further address food insecurity in Puerto Rico and provide more equitable resources to remote locations, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service will provide a higher benefit to Puerto Rico families, as compared to the U.S. mainland, through the new, permanent summer nutrition program for children – known as Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer. 

To further address food insecurity in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and provide more equitable resources for island communities, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service will provide a higher benefit to Guam and CNMI families, as compared to the U.S. mainland, through the new, permanent summer nutrition program for children – known as Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer.

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (has approved the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development’s request to create a demonstration project, Alaska Meals to You, to reduce food insecurity in rural Alaska. 

USDA announced that 35 states, all five U.S. territories, and four tribes plan to be the first to launch the new, permanent summer grocery benefits program for children – known as Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer – in summer 2024.

FNS has started receiving official notices from states and tribal nations that intend to operate the new, permanent summer nutrition assistance program for children, known as Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer — one of many strategies the department is leveraging to tackle child hunger when schools are closed. 

USDA is marking the end of 2023 by highlighting on-the-ground projects and partnerships that are building economic prosperity for farmers, families, and communities nationwide. 

USDA and the Food Research & Action Center have teamed up to competitively award five organizations a total of $1.1 million to research barriers to equitable access in the federal child nutrition programs and identify strategies to eliminate them.

WIC is vital to the health and well-being of nearly half of our nation’s babies, along with millions of young children up to age 5 and their mothers. Yet, recent research based on 2021 data published by FNS shows more than 6 million of those who are eligible for the program are missing out on its proven health benefits.   

Today, USDA released the Household Food Security in the United States in 2022 report, which examined American households’ ability to access sufficient food last year. 

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service awarded a cooperative agreement of nearly $10 million to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in support of ongoing efforts to modernize and enhance WIC, with the goal of helping all eligible mothers and children access the program to afford healthy food. 

The USDA today announced it has awarded a cooperative agreement to Regents of the University of Minnesota to support the development of the public health workforce in WIC. This cooperative agreement is part of a joint initiative between USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture and FNS intended to improve the health of WIC participants by increasing the diversity and cultural competency of the WIC workforce and promoting culturally responsive care.

USDA shepherded in the 2023 summer campaign of the Feds Feed Families program, a voluntary food drive that encourages federal employees to make in-kind contributions, including food, services, and time, to food banks and pantries of their choice. This year’s theme is Fighting Hunger – Giving Hope.

The USDA, through a cooperative agreement with FNS and the Food Research & Action Center, has awarded $16 million in subgrants funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to 36 projects aimed at testing innovative outreach strategies to increase participation and equity in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, known as WIC.