Updates to the Colorado WIC Food Package

The law requires USDA to review the WIC food packages every 10 years to make sure they reflect the latest nutrition science, health concerns, and cultural food choices. USDA is committed to ensuring current nutrition science informs Federal nutrition program standards, and updating the WIC food packages is a key part of that effort.

In November 2022, USDA proposed changes to the WIC food packages. The proposal considered:

• A 2017 scientific review by NASEM with recommendations for updating the food packages to better meet the nutrition needs of WIC clients.
• The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which included new advice for people who are pregnant and breastfeeding, babies, and young children (under age 2).
• The FDA's 2021 Advice about Eating Fish.
• How the food packages are meant to be supplemental, filling in important nutrition gaps.

USDA received over 17,000 comments about the proposal during a 90-day comment period. These comments came from WIC agencies, health professionals, organizations, WIC clients, and the general public. USDA used this feedback to make changes before finalizing the final food rule. A summary of the comments is available to the public.

The changes to the WIC food packages follow the latest nutrition science and aim to make sure everyone can access healthy foods during important life stages by providing:

• More choices to help clients get the nutrients needed for healthy growth and development.
• Better balance to meet key nutritional needs and encourage healthy eating habits.
• More flexibility to allow for different personal and cultural food preferences, as well as special dietary needs.
• More support to help breastfeeding clients reach their breastfeeding goals and continue breastfeeding long-term.

The changes provide more support for WIC families across a wider range of breastfeeding levels so that breastfeeding is not an all or nothing choice when prescribing food packages by:

• Creating a special food package for clients who are mostly, but not exclusively, breastfeeding to align with their higher calorie needs.
• Adding flexibility to the amount of formula provided to babies who are partially breastfed to better support individual breastfeeding goals.
• Providing important nutrients that individuals who are breastfeeding need by offering all breastfeeding clients canned fish and more fruits and vegetables.

The cash value benefit (CVB) for fruits and vegetables was temporarily increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. The final changes allow the CVB to remain at the current dollar value, which allows clients to buy and eat more fruits and vegetables.

The changes give WIC staff and clients more flexibility, variety, and choices. They build on current options for cultural and personal preferences, as well as for clients with special dietary needs or limited cooking and storage space, while ensuring WIC foods provide clients with key nutrients. These changes include:

• More whole grain choices, to meet different tastes and wheat allergies.
• Lowers the age at which parents and caregivers can substitute jarred infant fruits and vegetables with a cash value benefit for fruits and vegetables from 9 months to 6 months.
• Other changes to support clients with cultural or personal preferences, limited cooking space, or special dietary needs such as food allergies or intolerances.

By law, WIC is designed to supplement diets and provide nutrients for healthy growth and development. It fills in nutritional gaps based on what clients already eat.

Research shows that child and adult participants are already getting enough juice in their diet, and the amounts in the old food packages were more than the recommended daily limit. The changes reduce juice by about half a gallon per month on average, bringing it in line with nutrition science and recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The Dietary Guidelines recommend eating more whole fruits and vegetables, especially for young children, because juice lacks fiber, which many people do not get enough of. To align with these recommendations, the USDA reduced the amount of juice in the food packages and significantly increased the cash value benefit to purchase fruits and vegetables.

While 100% juice can still be part of a healthy diet, the new rule provides the same reduced juice amount to postpartum clients, as it does to children, pregnant, and breastfeeding clients. USDA received nearly 2,000 comments supporting this change, including from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which emphasized the benefits of whole fruits and vegetables over juice.

By law, WIC is designed to supplement diets and provide nutrients for healthy growth and development. It fills in nutritional gaps based on what clients already eat and drink.

The Dietary Guidelines recommend eating enough foods and beverages to meet nutrient needs without going over calorie limits. Before the changes, the WIC food packages provided 4-6 gallons of milk per month, which was up to 128% of the daily recommended amount of dairy.

To make WIC’s food packages more balanced, the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) recommended reducing the milk amount. USDA adopted this recommendation, reducing milk to 3-4 gallons per month, which is 71-96% of the daily recommended amount of dairy which still supports milk consumption and provides important nutrients like calcium and vitamin D.

Before the changes, the food package for clients who are fully breastfeeding provided two pounds of cheese, which represented 119% of the daily recommended dairy amount.

In Colorado WIC, one pound of cheese will still be included in the food package for fully breastfeeding women if desired. Fully breastfeeding women can also choose to substitute a second pound of cheese in place of three quarts of milk.

The final changes add 6 ounces of canned fish to food packages for children (ages 1-4), which aligns with recommendations that children should eat 1-1.7 ounces of low mercury fish per day.

The final changes also add 10 ounces of canned fish to food packages for pregnant and postpartum clients, and 15 ounces for partially breastfeeding clients. The amount for fully breastfeeding clients has been adjusted from 30 to 20 ounces.

Lastly, jack mackerel has been removed from the list of WIC-approved canned fish. The FDA and EPA do not have methylmercury data for jack mackerel and do not include this product in their advice about eating fish.