Federal Nutrition Programs During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Report Publish Date: December 2021
This issue brief describes the findings of four research projects funded by Healthy Eating Research during the COVID-19 pandemic. The projects explored ways to overcome barriers that participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) faced during the pandemic.
Primary Takeaways
- In New York City, replacing federally required in-person appointments with phone check-ins reduced the no-show rate by 45%.
- In Washington State, offering video and phone consultations increased WIC participation. Certification appointment attendance went from 72% to 77%, and nutrition consultation attendance went from 78% to 96%.
- In Knoxville, Tenn., an online ordering pilot suggested that labeling WIC-approved items online and reducing online ordering fees making online purchasing easier for WIC beneficiaries.
- In Oklahoma, WIC online ordering at a WIC-only grocery store chain accounted for 5.4% of customers in a 6-month period.
Overview and Objectives
Waivers provided by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act allowed state WIC programs to use virtual appointments and online ordering to help families overcome barriers to accessing food during the pandemic.
Healthy Eating Research (HER), a national project of RWJF that is administered by Duke University, provided grants to four projects that looked at how different states put in place WIC virtual services and online grocery ordering.
Hypothesis or Approach
The authors summarize the findings of the rapid-response grants and present overall recommendations for policies, programs, and research on remote services and online ordering. They also recommend steps for preserving WIC and boosting food security in the long run.
How This Influences Change
Despite the immense challenges the pandemic presented, it was also an opportunity to innovate in public health and social support. Understanding how remote services and online ordering might remove barriers for WIC families and boost equity could help public health practitioners and policy makers improve social safety net programs.
Research: Go Deeper
In response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act authorized USDA to approve waivers, requested by WIC state agencies and Tribal Nations, which would ensure WIC benefit access for families already participating in the program, as well as newly eligible families. These waivers and flexibilities provided researchers a natural experiment opportunity to understand the impact of these program changes on diet quality, food security, and related health and economic outcomes for children and families. HER funded four research teams to examine the implementation of WIC remote services and online grocery ordering during the pandemic. This brief presents key findings from those studies. Findings from these four projects emphasize the importance of remote services and online ordering in WIC, yet additional policy, program, and research efforts are needed in the short term to improve the availability and accessibility of services.
Healthy Eating Research, December 2021
Research Team
This study and report was conducted and created by the following people:
- Arm K
- Miller L
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