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WIC is administered by USDA's
Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) and is
available in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, 34 Indian Tribal
Organizations, American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth Islands of the Northern
Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
To qualify for WIC, an applicant must be either a pregnant or postpartum
woman, an infant younger than 1, or a child up to his or her fifth
birthday. WIC applicants must have family income at or below 185 percent
of the U.S. poverty level or participate in the Food Stamp Program,
Medicaid, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program.
Applicants must also meet a State residency requirement and be at nutritional
risk, as determined by a health professional, such as a physician, nutritionist,
or nurse.
WIC is not an entitlement program—that is, Congress does not set
aside funds to allow every eligible individual to participate in the
program—but a Federal grant program for which Congress authorizes
a specific amount of funding each year for program operations. Cost-containment
practices—especially infant formula
rebates—play a major role in increasing the number of participants the WIC program can serve.
WIC State agencies are legally required to enter into cost-containment
contracts for the purchase of infant formula used in WIC. After competitive
bidding, WIC State agencies typically award a contract to a single manufacturer
of infant formula for the exclusive right to provide its product to WIC
participants. In return, WIC State agencies obtain significant discounts
in the form of rebates from infant formula manufacturers. In fiscal 2004,
infant formula rebates totaled about $1.6 billion and supported over
one in every four WIC participants.
Seven different food
packages are provided for different categories of participants.
All packages provide foods that are high in one or more of the following
nutrients: protein, iron, calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C. In December of 2007, FNS issued an Interim Rule revising
these food packages. States must implement the revised packages by October 1, 2009.
Additional information on WIC is available at the FNS
website, including:
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