Infant formula manufacturers provide substantial discounts, in the form of rebates, to state WIC programs in return for the exclusive right to provide their products to the state’s WIC participants.

WIC is also cost-effective, and its competitive bidding process for purchasing infant formula is essential to its efficiency. Extensive research has documented that WIC is extremely effective: participating in WIC improves low-income families’ nutrition and health, leading to healthier babies, more nutritious diets and better health care for children, and higher academic achievement for students. All rights reserved.The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, popularly known as WIC, provides nutritious foods, counseling on healthy eating, breastfeeding support, and health care referrals to nearly 8 million low-income women, infants, and children at nutritional risk. To meet the needs of this vulnerable population during and beyond the pandemic, the carryover of WIC flexibilities (ie, physical presence and food package substitution waivers) after COVID-19 may improve the ease of overall program participation.ĬOVID-19 Qualitative research WIC WIC clinic experiences WIC food retail.Ĭopyright © 2021 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Hierarchical maps, coding matrices, and concept maps were used to aid direct content analysis for theme detection.įive primary themes emerged, including shopping barriers (existing compounded with new), coping strategies, impact on mental and emotional health, social comparison, and unintended consequences of COVID-19 on WIC families.ĬOVID-19 created additional barriers to food security among WIC families and negatively affected their health and well-being. Using grounded theory as the analytical framework, 2 coders completed an iterative, data-driven analytic process within NVivo, version 12. Participants were 24 adults in WIC-enrolled families residing in Tennessee. We conducted semi-structured phone interviews between April 30 and May 7, 2020.

Our aims were to understand the experiences of WIC participants in food retail settings and with WIC clinics during the COVID-19 pandemic and to explore WIC participants' perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 on their family's overall health, well-being, and daily lives.

The impact of these waivers on WIC participants' retail and clinic experiences remains unknown.

Waivers were approved that permitted flexibilities in the WIC food package, WIC vendor guidelines, and WIC clinic experience. In response, federal nutrition assistance programs have introduced flexibility waivers in programs, including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), to rapidly respond to support the nutritional health status of income-eligible participants during COVID-19. The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has widened many existing nutrition disparities.

Tennessee approved wic foods