WIC provides participants with monthly food packages that are designed to supplement participants’ diets with needed nutrients. WIC Foods Tailored to Participants’ Nutritional Needs Recent studies by USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) and collaborators found that A50 stores in Greater Los Angeles appeared to decrease travel distances to WIC stores to redeem benefits without raising program costs. However, A50 stores are more convenient for some WIC shoppers because they specialize in offering WIC-approved foods and serving WIC participants. A50 stores must adhere to additional pricing regulations, which adds administrative burden for both the WIC State agency and the store. Particularly, some stores are “above-50-percent” (A50) stores, which derive more than 50 percent of their food sales from WIC redemptions. However, some WIC State agencies authorize stores whose food business is mostly focused on accepting WIC benefits. Most WIC-authorized stores are typical food retailers such as supermarkets, large grocery stores, and supercenters for which WIC redemptions constitute a small share of total food sales. In most States, participants obtain the supplemental foods at stores authorized by WIC State agencies to accept WIC food benefits. In 2019, 6.4 million people participated in WIC Federal spending for the program totaled $5.2 billion. WIC is administered by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), with substantial operational control of the program delegated to State agencies. The program provides supplemental foods, nutrition education, breastfeeding support, and healthcare referrals at no charge to low-income and nutritionally at-risk pregnant and postpartum women, as well as infants and children up to age 5. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is USDA’s third-largest food assistance program. Without A50 stores in Greater Los Angeles, researchers estimated that 21 percent of WIC participants who do most of their WIC shopping at these stores would have traveled 2 or more additional miles to shop for food based on their WIC shopping history. Research on A50 stores in California suggests the existence of A50 stores in Greater Los Angeles expanded participant access to stores authorized to accept WIC benefits without raising program food costs. “Above-50-percent” (A50) stores derive the majority of their food sales from redeeming benefits from USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participants.
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